Friday, December 25, 2020

Jim Styro's CO-MAS-19 Update, 2020-12-25
(The Photos of Christmas Past, Part 4)

Merry Christmas to All!

Since we've reached the big day, I going to keep this (relatively) brief.  I know (hope) you've got better things to do.

Today, I will present the earliest Christmas pix that I could find in my collection.  I was three years old (three and a half, I'm sure my 1966 self would want pointed out) and I believe these pictures were taken at my Grandma Wyatt's house.  Before I get to the Christmas photos, let me show you her picture. 


This photo of my Dad's Mother, Mena, and younger sister, Jeanine was taken in 1970.  As you probably surmised, Jeanine (age 24) is on the left.  Mena was 63 and would die the following year of emphysema.

Now let's get to Christmas 1966.  We're at my Grandma Wyatt's house with Dad's older brother, Don, and his family.  Don (age 39) is in the picture at the lower left with his eldest son, Don Jr. (he's about 7) and daughter, Susan (she's about 5) on the couch behind him.  You can also see the back of my head.

In the picture at the upper right, I am more prominently featured in my blue Christmas sweater.  I'm interested in the toy vehicles, Sue appears more interested in the television.


My Uncle Don's children were (and are) good-looking people - so they deserve a closer look.


And now I will offer evidence of the good-looking genes they inherited.  

First, a picture of my Aunt Yukie from the same Christmas visit, sitting with Grandma Wyatt.


And now my Aunt and Uncle together circa 1955...


They have now been married over 65 years!

Thanks to everyone who let me know that they enjoyed these pictures.  I intended to encourage folks to send me their favorite Christmas pictures in response - but I kept forgetting to include that request till now.  But it's not too late to send me a Christmas present.  All I want is your picture.

Take care and stay safe.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Jim Styro's CO-MAS-19 Update, 2020-12-24
(The Photos of Christmas Past, Part 3)

 Welcome to this special Christmas Eve edition of The Photos of Christmas Past.

In our little hopscotch through time, we jump now to 1996 and an apartment in Wheaton, Illinois - where we find some of our usual suspects below...

Here's the scorecard.
Front row, seated (left to right) -
  • Sister #1 (age 29, married to the dude standing behind her - but let's not rush that introduction...)
  • The Girl (age 7 and unwilling to be parted from her Beanie Baby puppy for the photo shoot)
  • My Mom (age 52, mouth open to offer words of encouragement, instruction and whatever else comes up.  Hey - I am descended for a long line of loud people.)
  • Sister #2 (age 26 and all growed up from yesterday's photo.  She and my Mom were living together in the Wheaton apartment at this time.)
  • My Bride (age 33 - so I'm not using the Middle-Aged Woman moniker)
  • The Boy (age 5; that boy knows how to smile for the camera)
Back row (left to right) -
  • Sister #1's Husband #1 (age - unknown to me; my recollection is - he liked to cook and he wasn't around that long)
  • My Brother (age 32; moving to Chicago with my parents in the summer of 1982 was one of the best things that ever happened to my brother.  It got him away from all the ne'er-do-wells in Detroit that he had been hanging around.)
  • My Brother's Bride (age 27, she's one of the other best things to happen to my brother)
I have to admit that I don't have any vivid memories of this particular Christmas visit.  During this period, we were adhering pretty strictly to our Thanksgiving/Christmas travel rotation in order to split holiday time between My Bride's family and mine.  That is:  one year we would spend Thanksgiving visiting my family in Illinois - and Christmas at home.  The next year we would flip and spend Thanksgiving at home and Christmas in Illinois.  

My Bride's recollection from this particular visit was that Sister #2's boyfriend at the time decided to pick Christmas as the time to break up with her (His loss - the fool!  You can never trust a guy named Jim...)

Anyway, I know what you're thinking - Where are YOU, O Narrator?  I was taking the picture, I expect.  But just so you don't feel cheated, I will include a second, non-Christmas photo that includes Yours Truly.


Why this particular picture you ask?  Well...
#1 - It was taken in relatively close proximity to the Christmas photo (within about two months) on the occasion of the kid's birthdays - so you can just mentally paste me into that other picture.  This one was taken at our home in Redford (about a mile from the home of my Bride's Mom and Dad) where we lived for 21 years.
#2 - Along with The Boy and The Girl, this photo features Hank, my Bride's Father (age 71 in this photo).
#3 - You can begin to piece together the relentless progress of my hair loss by comparing the photo from earlier this week and today.

I think I've run out of interesting stuff for today.  

Jesus is coming again tonight, so get ready!  You don't want to miss it.  And Santa, too.  I hope they don't run into each other in the chimney.  And that they're wearing their masks. 

Take care and stay safe.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Jim Styro's CO-MAS-19 Update, 2020-12-23
(The Photos of Christmas Past, Part 2)

 Without any further ado, here’s today’s Christmas photo -


I will once again provide some guidance on who's who in this happy-looking group.  From left to right in the front row, let me present:

  • My Brother (age 6, with his picture-taking grin.  My brother and I are less than a year apart in age (both June birthdays; him early, me late) - and sporting the same hippie, fringe vest.  I have no recollection of this article of clothing and have to assume it was my mother's idea of progressive fashion at the time.)
  • My newborn Sister #2 (only a couple weeks old; of the entire group, she seems the most appropriately dressed for the holidays.)
  • Me (age 7 - and as good-looking as I'm ever going to get.  That looks to me like a real smile, ladies and gentlemen - not just a "picture smile".  Unlike my easy-going brother, I felt the need to button that shirt ALL the way up.)
  • My Sister #1 (age 3, and also sporting a sweet & natural smile.  She seems to be in possession of a doll designed to look exactly like her.)
Let's go off on a momentary tangent and take a closer look at that pair -


Now, in the back row:
  • My Mom (age 27, she looks quite happy.  Perhaps feeling relieved with the premonition that she has delivered her last child and won't need to go through that again.)
  • My Dad (age 26 - apart from his newest daughter, the only one not smiling for the camera.  Maybe he's just thinking about where he's going to find cash for the presents anticipated by his growing brood.  Or maybe he's rethinking the tie he picked out.)
This shot was taken in the living room of my childhood home on the west side of Detroit (near Plymouth Road and the Southfield Expressway).  Please note the prominent "rabbit ears" TV antennae in the background. That is some serious video technology.

Christmas is almost upon us - so hopefully I'll be able to come up with some worthy pictures for the rest of this week.  I'm feeling the pressure.

In other news, the headline for this item at the CNN website made me laugh in a juvenile fashion -
I think any time the word "underpants" is used in a news headline, it is funny.  I know it's a serious business, poisoning, and the guy nearly died - but I just imagine the editors discussing what term to use in the headline -

"Briefs?  No, that word has too many alternative uses."
"How about Jockey shorts?"
"No, we can't use any name-brands!"
"Underpants?"  Everyone giggles.
"Ok, I guess we go with underpants..."

That's it for today.  If I don't pick the picture for tomorrow soon, I'm going to fall behind and miss out on sharing a new photo for Christmas Eve.  And we can't have that.

Take care and stay safe.

Monday, December 21, 2020

Jim Styro's CO-MAS-19 Update, 2020-12-21
(The Photos of Christmas Past, Part 1)

Long time no see/write/read.

Only true if your sole contact with me is via blog or email.  In the past 7 months, I have proved myself The King Of Zoom (or at least, like, the Archduke).  Much of the year has been spent walking a tightrope between frustrating seclusion and irresponsible interaction.

No 'Vid here, so I must be doing something right.  I hope - think - pray...

Anyway, I read in my daily New York Times email update about someone that had decided to share a daily Christmas photo with friends & family.  I may have included some unsuspecting bystanders by posting on the Internet.  But I don't think the readership on my blog is too extensive.

So here's my first foray into The Photos of Christmas Past - from good ole 1991!


If you're reading this, you either know or can make an educated guess at the individuals pictured above - but I'll provide a bit of assistance for the uninitiated.  From left to right are:  
  • The Girl (a couple months past her second birthday)
  • The (not yet) Middle-Aged Woman [heck, not even 30...]
  • Yours Truly (oh Hair, we hardly knew ye!)  [I am currently a little more than twice as old as pictured above.]
  • The Boy (fresh out of the oven, so to speak.  A little over two months old - and wondering why he got stuck with Dad...)
This was taken in the living room of our first home on far west side of Detroit.  We had spent several years of renting in Dearborn and Detroit after the nuptials.  

While preparing this post, I noticed a small frame on the wall behind us in the picture (between the Christmas tree and my big head).  It's a needle-point which my loving Bride prepared for me many moons ago.  Maybe it caught my attention because - at this very moment - I only need to raise my eyes from my computer monitor and slightly to the left to see it more clearly on the wall just a few feet from where I'm sitting...


One more thing - I have completed a new addition to my Jim Styro's Christmas Collection mix of favorite holiday tunes.  Here's the cover graphic - and I will include a link for anyone interested in downloading an iTunes rip of these Christmas Collections.

Here's the link:  Jim Styro's Collections
The first two disks were created in 2007 with a Sacred Side & a Secular Side.  'Cause I'm multi-faceted.  And stuff...

I'd love to write more stuff - but I can only be interesting in short bursts.  Hopefully, I can be interesting again tomorrow.

Take care and stay safe.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-05-12

Here's my philosophy:  If a post gets too long, it can be intimidating to the reader.  So I view it as a bonus that I forgot to report on some important stuff Sunday.  It just means I'm well-motivated to send out another update today with the stuff I missed -
  • I completed ANOTHER personal music collection last month which is called “COVID and Collected.”  New collections in back-to-back months!  It's unprecedented.
 I completed write-up of the lyric notes last night and all the necessary files have been uploaded to Box.net. If you are an interested party, send me an email and I will provide a link so you can download it.
I started work on the collection before we settled on a topic for this Saturday's Virtual Music Night - but, regardless, one thing is certain.  I have a list of songs ready-made for the "Social Distancing" collection that will be a by-product of this weekend's event.  
  • Only in Pandemic World (It's like "Jurassic World" - only a virus is trying to kill you instead of dinosaurs) would I find the motivation to finish two collections in two months.  Of course, having completed remastering of the remaining Music Night cassette tape collections on CD was also a major factor.
  • Another area that has seen a significant uptick in attention is special Music Night and Spinner Invitational merchandise.  I mean what home would want to be without these awesome mugs?
Or this stylish mask?
 
Not to mention shirts, baseball caps, knit hats...the list goes on and on.  Even people who are practicing physical distancing are allowed to shop.

If this message gets too long, no one's gonna read it.  So I'm stopping.
Right.
Now.

Take care.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-05-10 Mother's Day Edition

Let me deal with one thing right at the top - no Mother was neglected due to the composition of this post.
  • I phoned my Mom right after church (Zoom meeting church - not "drive to the building and sit in your pew" church) today.  While we were talking each of my siblings also phoned her* - but she was able to place me on hold, tell them she was already in a call with me, AND successfully get back to me without disconnecting the call.  And if you don't understand what an achievement that was - then you don't know my Mother very well.  So, anyway, the point of this story is:  I won the "first child calling on Mother's Day" derby this year (probably for the first time ever).  You may say that "it's not a contest" - but it is now, because I just won.
  • The Mother of My Children was also attended to with donuts, an Etsy gift certificate (one man's way of saying "Honey, I'm BEGGING you to buy more stuff from Etsy!") and the order of a foot spa with heat, bubbles and massager - delivery expected later this week.  Just trying my best to address the needs of the "total woman".
  • My exercise regimen has had its ups and downs since Easter.  This is the result of two primary factors - spotty weather (it snowed on Friday?!) and too many other things to do.  I did 45-minute sessions on the recumbent exercise bike yesterday and again today, so that was very good.  Here's the latest walking stats -

I've had some good streaks since Easter.  Factoring in my work on the recumbent bike, I only missed out on Friday this week. (I'm calling it a snow day.  If you even SEE snow in May, it's a snow day.)
  • The Music Night Tech Team (if you're unfamiliar with the Music Night concept, click here) has been toiling behind the scenes to prepare for our first Virtual Music Night event this Saturday.  We had a dry run yesterday evening and 17 of our stalwart group showed up to test out their ability to connect to our virtual meeting space and swap stories of Life During The Pandemic.  The topic for our next collection is "Social Distancing" - and it looks to me like we are set up for a fine time on Saturday.  Until we can gather safely in-person, we'll find new ways to have fun.
  • I've also been hosting our Virtual Bar Night on Thursdays for buddies on the old Spinners bowling team - and other associated ne'er-do-wells.  Attendance is up from what we normally used to see at the bar - but I suspect this will not last once some freedom of movement is restored.  For now, we have to deal with providing our own beverages - but, on the plus side, we don't have to listen to a bar band massacre classic rock tunes.  So there are some trade-offs.
  • Ordered an Amazon Fire TV stick from Ebay so I could watch Apple TV on Jim's TV.  But I had to return it because the model indicated by the seller was not the actual model of the device he was selling - so it wouldn't run the Apple TV app.  So I returned that device and ordered the correct one directly from Amazaon.  It is now fully functional - and I was able to watch a good film called "The Banker" (with Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson).
  • Jimmy decided to trade in the Nissan he bought from us and lease a new, blue Ford F-150 pickup.  Although I don't see the appeal of a truck, he loves it.  And it does seat five adults - which I could not do comfortably in my C-max hybrid.
2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide®

I started to type that "I had better finish this and post it" - or I would never post it at all.  And then the power went out.  Lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you feel about the time you have invested in reading this) for all of us, the power came back very quickly.  I better post this now before I have a different excuse to delay the update.

Hope you are all feeling good and staying safe.  Be careful out there.

Take care.

*OK, Charlie didn’t call while we were on the phone – but who wants to let the facts get in the way of a good story?

Friday, April 17, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-04-17 (Special Edition)


I know that you weren’t expecting an update until Sunday – but I got excited and wanted everyone to know about the new Led Zeppelin 2020 remasters that are coming out.


PS:  For those of you who are not Led Zeppelin fans, I apologize for this esoteric bit of visual humor.  For everyone else – I can’t be sure I’m the first one to think of this.  But maybe I am.

Take care.

PS:  I neglected to provide a track listing for the Remastered version

Disk One:

Humble Pie
The Napper
In My Time Of Dying (explicit)
Houses Of The Restless
Trampled Under Germ
KashKow (or Ballad of the Medical Supply Profiteer)

Disk Two

In The Line (Ode to Costco)
Coron-A-Vir
Down By The Bedside
Ten Weeks Gone (so far)
No Flight
The Waiting Song
Boogie With Flu
Black Market Tissue
Sick Again (explicit)



Sunday, April 12, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update
- Easter Sunday Edition, 2020-04-12

Oh man - I have so much to tell you...and so much time available to tell it.

Actually, that may be more true for you than it is for me.  It seems that I am an "essential employee" - or, at least, I am able to do whatever it is that I do from home.  So my schedule has not been adjusted much - at least not during U.S. business hours.

I had every intention of sneaking in a blog post last week on Palm Sunday.  But I decided that I would only post if I had completed ANY of my annual reviews beforehand.  As you can see, that motivational technique was...ineffectual.

Motivation - Round #2 was based on the same restriction (no blogging until the review were fully complete - since the deadline was midnight tonight, Easter Sunday) - but with much better results.  I actually finished and posted all the reviews last night, so I was able to sleep with a sense of accomplishment.

But now I'm starting to get ahead of myself.  Let's go back in time and review Weeks 3 and 4 of the New Normal -
  • Family photos - The Girl (my daughter) and her husband, Derrick, are currently residing with my bride (The Middle Aged Woman) and I.  The Boy (my son) is living in our previous residence in Redford, MI.  Two Fridays back now, The Boy came over for dinner and we watched Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood".  But before the movie, I wanted to get a family photo that would reflect appropriate physical distancing in these harrowing times.  Below is the youngest to oldest version (Boy, Girl, Derrick, MAW, me) 

  • I found out during Week 3 that Jackson Browne tested positive for COVID-19 - but based on this article from the LA Times, he should be fully recovered by now.  [If the link doesn't work, I can send a PDF of article - just leave a request in the Comments.]
  • Exercise update:  Until the weather turned cold and damp this past Thursday and Friday, I have been on an eight-day exercise streak (4/1-4/8) - either walking 2 miles or doing the equivalent of 12-14 miles on my recumbent stationary bike.  Started what I hope will be a new streak on Saturday walking with MAW.  And today I did double duty - did 14 miles on the recumbent bike this morning before church and walked 2 miles before dinner this evening.
  • This Week(s) in Video Conferencing:  Had a bunch more video conferences during the past two weeks - for church, with friends, and with family.  My single biggest video partner has been my Dad as I helped get him get prepared to join the on-line worship at my church for Palm Sunday (he joined us again for Easter this morning), use Google Hangouts for video calls, and play the World Golf Tour (computer golf) with me on-line.  And just today, I was able to show my Mom how to receive a call from me in Google Hangouts on her computer.  I am clearly ON FIRE providing tech support to retirees.
  • This Week in Entertainment:  No Redbox rentals the past couple weekends - but I did watch -
    • Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (mentioned above; apart from about 3 minutes of completely over-the-top violence, this is arguably his best movie)
    • Yesterday (if you love the Beatles, I highly recommend this flick)  The basic premise is: what if there is only one musician left on earth that remembers the Beatles' songs?  A world in which that band never existed.  A great "wish fulfillment" scene toward the end of the movie is almost worth the price of admission (I mean, rental).
    • Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (for Kevin Smith fans only.  I'm glad I watched it.)
  • Finished making CD for my Mom with selections from the Purdue University Choir and Varsity Glee Club (with appearances from the Morehouse College Glee Club as well).
  • Al Kaline:  Where have you gone, Albert William?  A sad day in the midst of many such.  One of the greatest players that I can say I saw live and in-person.  May be THE greatest.
  • Michigan - Top 5 with a bullet:  There are some contests that you just don't want to win.  One of those is - State with the most COVID-19 cases and/or deaths.  It seems unlikely that we will shoot past NewYork or New Orleans (in deaths per 100K population) - but it seems like we are solidly in the Top 5 - and moving up.
  • Braving Costco (or "The return of toilet paper and donuts"):  For a solid month or more, I have been unable to purchase toilet paper from my usual toilet paper vendor, Costco.  But this past Wednesday, I made a trip in the mid-afternoon and was able to sip from the sweet cup of victory.  Even better, I cruised by my favorite donut shop (which had been closed previously due to the governor's Stay At Home order) and found they have reopened.  (On a person note, I have always felt that donut-making was an essential job.  Without certain things, life just isn't worth living.)  Needless to say, the transaction was conducted at a distance (yelling my donut selections into the store) and I tipped big. 
I was going to post a picture that I call "The Easter Without Pants" - but I chickened out.  It's probably all for the best.  I will post another "Family Portrait in the Era of Physical Distancing" instead.

Hope you are staying home and staying safe.  Happy Easter!

Take care.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-03-29

Didja miss me?

We've completed Week 2 of The New Normal - and nothing seems close to returning to normalcy.

Staying at home (except for food acquisition)?  Check!  [Full disclosure: I stopped at Redbox to rent movies - but cleaned them thoroughly with a Clorox wipe.  No human contact involved.]

Physical distancing?  Check!

Wrapping myself in a body condom?  Uhhh, OK - I did NOT do that.  [Full disclosure:  I don't believe this was ever recommended by the CDC.]

But I did do other stuff, like -
  • Bought even cheaper gas ($1.39) at Costco than the previous week ($1.65).  

  • Tried to keep active with walking & exercise.  While my walking streak was halted at 10 straight days (3/14 - 3/23). I did complete my two-mile walking route on Wednesday and again today [I have provided the screenshot from MapMyWalk below as evidence].  I also spent 40+ minutes (and the equivalent of over 12 miles according to the digital display) on Friday morning using my recumbent exercise bike.  [Full disclosure:  I have no screenshot evidence from the exercise bike.  It is a low tech device - but a quiet way to pedal away some fat.  And it is easier on my lower back.]

  • Participated in 6 video conferences/chats within 24 hours (6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday).  I met with church leaders on Friday night (Zoom); my sister, Sarah (FaceTime); Olivia from church (Zoom again, to discuss slides for on-line worship service); Music Night planning with Chuck and Pat (Google Hangouts); my dad (FaceTime again); and virtual happy hour with the Burks (Hangouts again). This was in addition to multiple church group video conferences earlier in the week and VBN (Virtual Bar Night) with the Spinners earlier in the week.
Oh - and I had all my usual conference calls during work hours too.

I thought this thing was supposed provide an opportunity for me to be bored and binge watching Netflix...

I have also engaged in some "cabin fever" on-line shopping - but the most expensive item was less than $16 (a CD/ BlurayAudio set from XTC in their guise as the psychedelic throwback rockers, The Dukes of the Stratosphear) - so it shouldn't leave me destitute.  [Full disclosure:  Other items were - CD/DVD slim cases, card stock for CD package use, and CDs from David Byrne, Miles Davis & the American Hustle soundtrack.]

I have made no purchases (yet) from biologyproducts.com.  Although their uncut Sheep Heart looks like a bargain at $3.30.  [Full disclosure:  It is (you guessed it) "not alive nor is it edible".  Which - while not a surprise - may be disappointing to some.]

I have been able to remain light-hearted through the pandemic so far.  I hope I'm not becoming light-headed.

Take care everyone.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-03-22

Week One of the COVID-19 "New Normal" is in the books - and all in my household remain disease-free (to the best of our knowledge).  We are asymptomatic at least - but (for the most part) trying to behave as though we have been diagnosed with the virus in order to minimize any spread.

Below are some additional things I have thought and done during the past week -
  • On Tuesday, I bought gas after shopping at Costco.  The price?  $1.65 a gallon.  Never thought I'd see gas prices like THAT again.  It makes me wish I had someplace to go...
  • I wrote about Glenn W. Levey Middle school the other day - but I don't know who Glenn W. Levey is/was.  (Full disclosure:  I assume he's dead.  Don't they mostly name buildings after dead people?)  I did some Google checks for Glenn - but came up empty.  I did pay closer attention to the sign in front of the school during my walk on Friday - and confirmed my earlier suspicion that being an "Exemplary School" and a "Blue Ribbon School" are the same thing.

  • Speaking of walking, yesterday was my eighth straight day of walking my 2-mile route.  I have started to see more people out strolling the past couple days.  Physical (not "social")  distancing protocols were observed in all cases.  
  • I was advised yesterday - and subsequently confirmed through other sources - that "physical distancing" (rather than "social distancing") is now the preferred nomenclature.  The intention is to emphasize the need for maintaining physical distance to avoid the spread of COVID-19 - but acknowledge the need that social interaction (which can be done while maintaining physical distance) is very much needed during these stressful times.
  • You cannot kill the COVID-19 virus with a hair dryer.  I had a conference call for work mid-week where a lady told us otherwise - and that she expected to see people buying up all the hair dryers to blow dry their way to health.  The misinformation that heat will kill COVID-19 has been going around for a while.  Thank goodness Snopes knows better.
  • Donated double red cells at the Red Cross in Livonia yesterday.  My blood pressure was a little higher than normal (I wonder why?) although I haven't detected feeling emotionally stressed.  I do know that even after 78 donations (according to my profile at the Red Cross website), I still don't like needles or the sight of blood (Imagine that!  Since so many of us love both needles and blood.)  I don't know how many years their records cover - but I estimate having given regularly for about 40 years.
  • Here's the thing - my blood type is O Negative.  Only about 7% of the population have that blood type.  While it is not the rarest blood type, it is much desired by the Red Cross - because patients of all blood types can receive O Negative blood.  In the lingo, I am a "Universal Donor" - which makes me extremely popular in the blood biz.  I have already scheduled my next donation for August 15 in the hope it will forestall many emails and phone calls from the Red Cross in the meantime.  But I don't hold out much hope this tactic will work.  I'll keep you posted.
  • No new items to share from biologyproducts.com.  But you haven't heard the last of them.
Take care.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-03-19

Maybe you thought I would leave you alone.
Maybe you thought my previous update was an anomaly.
Maybe you thought I had better things to do.

Wrong on all counts.

The first week of COVID Closure (aka "The New Normal" - schools being closed, church being closed, restaurants & bars being closed or reduced to carry out) is nearly over.  Below are some additional things I have done & thought about -
  • Completed my 2-mile walking route three more times.  On Tuesday (Day 4), I finally encountered someone else out walking.  [Full disclosure:  We failed to observe proper social distancing since we only moved to opposite sides of the sidewalk.  There's no way we stayed 6 feet apart at all times.  But we didn't cough or sneeze on each other - just a polite greeting.]
  • It was raining yesterday evening, so I had to use my golf umbrella while walking on Day 5.  My shoes and socks were VERY wet by the time I got home.  Once again, I saw another person out walking.  [Full disclosure:  We observed proper social distancing - because they were on the north side of Nine Mile Road and I was on the south side.]
  • It rained again today (Day 6) while I was walking.  Sneaky rain.  The kind of rain where - it's not raining at all when you leave the house - but before you get a block away, it starts to rain, so you open up the umbrella.  It's not raining very hard.  Looks like your shoes aren't going to get all wet this time.  But then, when you're a mile away from home (half-way through, at your FARTHEST point away from home), it starts to rainy pretty hard.  And then the wind starts to blow.  But there's no short cut now.  No way.  You just have to persevere and walk home.  My shoes and socks were VERY wet again today when I got home. [Full disclosure:  Nobody else was dumb enough to be out walking today.  But I did see someone taking out their garbage.  Proper social distancing was observed.]
  • I walk by Glenn W. Levey Middle School on my walk each day. Over the main entrance to the school are the words,  "An Exemplary School".  The sign out front also indicates that Levey Middle School is a "Blue Ribbon School".  I felt good about living so close to school that is both "Exemplary" and "Blue Ribbon-y".  Subsequent research has revealed that both parts of the signage at Levey refer to its designation as a National Blue Ribbon school for the school year 1999-2000.  [Full disclosure:  There is an Exemplary School Designation awarded by the Arts Schools Network - but there is no indication that Levey Middle School ever received it.  But Interlochen Arts Academy did from 2012-2016.]
  • One more day and I will have completed a full week of my new 2-mile walking regimen.  [Full disclosure:  I really hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.]
  • I have a Double-Red blood donation set up for Saturday morning in Livonia.  [Full disclosure:  'Cause that's how I roll.]
  • You CANNOT purchase a Large Plain Bat at biologyproducts.com.  But you can purchase a Bat Skelton for only $40.  [Full disclosure:  The site states that "Our Skeleton Specimens are real animal bones, cleaned and specially treated" - but makes no mention of whether the product is alive or edible.]
  • Full disclosure:  I don't think I can keep up this "full disclosure" thing much longer.  [Additional disclosure:  But I'm not making any promises.]
Hope you are all taking care of yourselves and those about you.  

Take care.


Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-03-17

Just when you thought I'd never post again...here I am.

OK - I know you weren't thinking about me (posting or otherwise).  But I've got to start somewhere.

If you (or your significant other – using your email address rather than their own) make regular on-line purchases, I expect that you are receiving multiple emails every day from businesses, organizations, government entities – all wanting to tell you about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  I, for one, think that MY experiences & insights on this matter are equally valid and noteworthy – so I have decided to victimi post my musings here.

Since this is my first post in several years, I’ll start with the basics –

  • I do not currently have COVID-19.  [Full disclosure:  I have not been tested for COVID-19.]
  • I feel better than James Brown.  [Full disclosure:  James Brown died on Christmas Day 2006.]
  • For the past 3 days, I have walked two miles each day.  [Full disclosure:  In those two hours of walking, I only saw one other human outside.  I maintained appropriate social distancing.]
  • I haven’t been able to find toilet paper in stock at the Livonia (MI) Costco in two weeks.  [Full disclosure:  My son-in-law, Derrick, was able to find some at the Target on Grand River in Farmington Hills, MI.]
  • You can purchase a Large Plain Rabbit at biologyproducts.com for only $29.  [Full disclosure:  As the site warns, “Product is not alive nor is it edible."]
 Since my Music Night workload has been greatly reduced, I completed a personal music collection which I’m calling “All Over The Place.”  I’ll be working on the lyric notes prior to distribution. 

That’s all I have for today.  In the words of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus, “Let’s be careful out there.”  Or as I always say...

Take care.