Balance. Jeny had an appointment to see her hair dresser. I took her because she had loaned her car to another person. She tried to back up a step holding on to a car. When she stood-up, she fell backwards and hit her head on the corner of a post on the porch.

I hurried to her side. She was conscious and said “I’m alright.” Then the blood came. Scalp wounds are the bloodiest. Thankfully the hair dresser had ice, towels and a hair cap which greatly helped.

The emergency room was nearby so rather than call 911, I drove her to the ER. She got excellent treatment. The CAT scan showed no problems and she had no symptoms of a concussion. She came home with 10 staples in the back of her head. She made it to Easter services and we plan to go to Nashville this weekend. She is tough.

The day before her fall, Joe Lieberman died from complication from a fall. I was reminded we were not taught about the real difficulties of aging in school. Everyone should be taught about balance, flexibility, memory loss and a whole host of other issues.

It also reminded of my sadness that the next presidential race will be between two very old men.

NCAA Basketball Championships. Last year at this time, I said I was more interested in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship than the men’s tournament. As an Iowa alum I was very happy to see Caitlin Clark’s success. I was very disappointed in the Iowa loss in the championship game.

This year the semifinal game was a repeat between LSU and Iowa. The game was great and for me, this time had the proper finish . Caitlin and Angel Reese were outstanding. The game was the most viewed game in the history of women’s basketball. In the second semi-final game Jo-Jo Watkins and Paige Buecher were also excellent.

Watching the games, I had a very honest reflection. I used to go to games just to support women’s sports. I have always felt sorry for the women of my era who did not have the chance to compete. I supported their inclusion.

This weekend I was watching because it was great basketball. To perform like they did under the pressure they faced was amazing. With opportunity, the women’s game has developed to excellence.

When I played basketball at Hutchinson Junior College (HJC) we did not have a women’s team. This year the HJC women’s team won the junior college national championship.

It is particularly interesting to see very tall women have success. In my youth, life was difficult for women who towered over men. Now they carry themselves with pride and that is good to see.

This year the men’s tournament is also interesting. Of course, we will be interested to see how Alabama does in their first trip to the final four. I am also very interested in watching the giant Zac Edny of Purdue and D J Burns of North Carolina State matchup. Should be a fun weekend for college basketball.

Left-Right Divide. I received several excellent responses to my concerns about the Left-Right divide in our country. I am still digesting them. In order to keep the blog short, I will only cover parts of them each week.

One included the suggestion I read a short article by Dennis Prager.  Prager has a wide readership in Conservative circles and I was pleased with his message. In my words, he distinguishes between the far left who despise America and Liberals who love America and have a different agenda than Conservatives. I read him to say Liberals and Conservatives should not see each other as enemies but as people with different approaches. I appreciate the message. Now more people on both sides need to put this concept into practice.

If you are liberal and dismiss reading a conservative view, it will not hurt you to read his short article.

Another reader recommended reading Victor Davis Hanson for a thoughtful conservative viewpoint. I was familiar with Prager; I do not know Hanson. I we are going to overcome our political divide, as a center left person, I cannot expect conservatives to simply change. I should be willing to investigate what conservatives are saying rather than simply dismissing them. I am going to take the time to read and hear what Hanson has to say. He is a Fellow at the Hoover Institute. My personal favorite conservative thinker, Thomas Sowell, is also with the Hoover Institute.

Another reader, who happens to be a policeman, sent a detailed report showing how hard it is to reach across the divide when a Leftist DA ignores crimes against the police and distorts the police behavior. His email included first-hand experiences where protestors, who are required by law to have a permit, were demonstrating without a permit.

The protestors threw Molotov cocktails, shot giant industrial grade mortar fireworks and laser lights that could cause blindness at the police.  Charges were dropped against the protestors.

County Drops Most Charges Against Protesters: 104 of the 178 people arrested at the spring and summer protests will avoid court – News – The Austin Chronicle

However, the police were also charged for their responses. Most of the charges against the police have also been dropped because they did not violate the law. The protestors did violate the law, their charges were just dropped.

He also reported a first-hand experience where an Antifa group was marching around waving communist flags. A citizen approached them and asked if they knew how many millions of lives communism had killed. An antifa member shoved him.

The police were ordered to arrest the male citizen for disorderly conduct language. A questionable charge, especially considering the march had no permit and was violating transportation code and city ordinances. 

I also heard from several conservatives how much they are struggling with being a conservative in light of the personal behavior of Trump.

This and That

60 Minutes had a frightening segment. They showed evidence the Russians have developed a high energy weapon and have used it against United States government employees.

A commentator in our local on-line paper got my attention. She wrote a column about the news being so bad people did not watch it. She understood the attitude and so do I. She went on to make a good case for the idea — burying my head in the sand does not make evil go away. I think the key is to realize that while there is bad in the world and always has been, my job is to find good and do kind things.

Good News

Kindness

MrBeast And Lectric eBikes Donate 600 Life-Changing eBikes To People In Need (sunnyskyz.com)

Paul Skenes Is Donating $100 To The Gary Sinise Foundation For Every Strikeout (sunnyskyz.com)

I cried at this one

Restaurant Owner Drops Everything, Drives Nearly 6 Hours To Fulfill Dying Woman’s Last Wish (sunnyskyz.com)

Peace

Jerry


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