Categories
Good Life People

Taps

If you think about a U.S. military funeral, you probably think of Taps.

Taps originated as a bugle call to tell soldiers it was lights out, time to go to sleep. The 24-note Taps that we’re familiar with today originated from a Civil War bugle call called Extinguish Lights, which was a French tune. General Daniel Butterfield wanted something a little different, and so he and a brigade bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, revised it. Their version was made the official version after the Civil War.

This year, many of the traditional Memorial Day tributes have been cancelled. However, “Taps Across America” gives us a creative option to recognize those who’ve fallen in service to our country.

At 3:00 p.m. local time, you’re invited to sound Taps from your front yard, your balcony, your driveway – wherever you are. The idea is Steve Hartmann’s (of CBS Evening News). More details can be found at this link: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/how-to-participate-in-steve-hartmans-taps-across-america/?fbclid=IwAR2nyvVVv2rAIor84_0Ivci21h96FLfV32-tQ0eIvUXy5z4GHaPvLfvhnCw

I don’t know how to play a bugle or a trumpet, so I won’t be able to sound Taps. However, I will step outside at 3:00 today and listen. Perhaps one of my neighbors will play. If not, I will still appreciate that moment, knowing that there are people elsewhere who are playing.

During that time, I’ll think about the meaning of those 24 notes. I’ll think about duty, and honor, and sacrifice. I’ll remember what today represents. And I’ll gratefully share in this collective spirit of thanks – of sincere, heartfelt respect and appreciation – for those who’ve given all.

Categories
Life

Heroism

There are many ways to describe heroism. I like this one:

“Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

Categories
Fun People Pets

Funny

Will Ferrell is making another funny movie!

This one’s called Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and will be available on Netflix in June. Rachel McAdams will also star.

Will and Rachel play Icelandic musicians. Their song is Volcano Man, and it appears to be exactly the wacky, hilarious stuff you’d expect from Will Ferrell. Here’s a link with more details, including a video clip of the song: https://nerdist.com/article/netflixs-eurovision-parody-trailer/

To accompany this news, I got out the Viking cuppa. As you can see, my choice is Mollie-approved. She’s a Viking at heart, especially when she’s protecting us from the squirrels.

Categories
Animals Good

Llemonade

It’s Friday; let’s start the weekend with a happy Llama story.

In southwest Wales, A Llama named Max is assisting in the delivery of food packages to people who are social distancing. The area has roads that can be difficult for trucks to travel on, and Max has turned out to be a helpful (and eco-friendly) solution.

The locals are delighted by the delivery experience. Max is enjoying the exercise and the attention. As the saying goes, lemons to lemonade. Or in this case, llemonade.

Here’s a cuppa of appreciation for you, Max. Carry on.

Categories
Adventures Life People

Courage

CBS All Access is creating a new limited series based on Stephen King’s novel The Stand.

I read The Stand when I was in high school. It was my introduction to the world of Stephen King. Like many others, I was hooked – and for years, eagerly dove into each of his new books as soon as they were released. It was scary stuff wrapped in vivid adventures, the kinds of stories that created a rush of adrenaline and made you check under the bed (and in the closet and behind the curtains) before turning out the lights.

After my first son was born, however, I stopped wanting to read them. Becoming a parent changes the way you perceive fear. Every dangerous or terrifying scenario, even if only in a fiction novel, becomes a trigger for late-night worry and anxious overthinking. You empathize with imperiled characters in new ways. Monsters don’t seem as imaginary.

Then an interesting thing happened. As my children grew older, I found myself wanting to re-read some of my SK favorites. The Stand was one of them. Weirdly, I found comfort in the characters and the plot, despite the awful premise and the disturbing descriptions.

What changed? This time around, the fear didn’t take center stage. Instead, my attention shifted from the scare to the relationships and the resilience. The people and their perspectives, their experiences. The way they came together, and faced the impossible, and prevailed. I found hope in the story.

I will watch the new series; I’m looking forward to it. The cast looks great (Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abigail! Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg!). It will be interesting to see a new take on the tale. But I won’t be tuning in for the fear. Fear is everywhere. Fear is easy.

I’ll watch because I want to see the true story. The one that inspires me because it speaks of tenacity, empathy, trust, and hope. Fear is the distraction. The true story is courage.


Categories
Life

Deadlines

I’ve been thinking about deadlines.

Deadlines are helpful. They can define expectations and provide a framework for action. They give us a way to describe success. Even if we struggle to achieve the goal, who doesn’t love the feeling of completion?

Deadlines can also be misleading. They can provide a false sense of achievement, rewarding the end rather than the experience. Ask any student who’s pulled an all-nighter to finish a project. It might’ve been turned in on time, but it probably wasn’t their best work.

At their core, deadlines represent our drive to control time. But controlling time isn’t something we can actually do. What we can do is convince ourselves that elements contained within a period of time are the same thing as the time itself.

In the past few months, many of us have personally experienced new ways of working, communicating, organizing, connecting, and delivering. I suspect that these experiences will influence our perspectives about deadlines. We’ll still need them, but we may be less likely to accept them without an explanation of their value, their purpose. And, we may be more likely to propose alternatives or look for new options to measure success.

In the meantime, this cuppa reminds me that I have stuff I need to do today, and I’d better get started.



Categories
Animals Good

Dogs

The University of Pennsylvania recently started a program to train dogs to detect COVID-19 in humans. Similar programs are underway in other countries.

Dog noses have up to 300 million scent detectors (humans have around six million). These sensitive snouts allow them to sniff out volatile organic compounds created by certain cells.

Trainers hope that the first group of COVID-19 sniffing dogs will be ready to go to work by July. They can then help with detecting the virus in asymptomatic people, which may aid in efforts to minimize public exposure to the illness.

I’m sure those good doggos would appreciate some treats. I can’t give them one, but I can dedicate today’s cuppa to them. Here’s to the 1,000,000,000 reasons – and now one more – that dogs make the world a better place.

Categories
Life People

Delicious

Some books stay with you long after you read them.

I read Gilda Radner’s book, It’s Always Something, many years ago. From time to time, I re-read it, always finding new things to laugh about or a fresh nugget of wisdom to mull over.


In the book, Gilda writes:

”Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.”

I like to start Mondays with those words – Delicious Ambiguity – in mind.

It’s comforting to know what to expect. But the flavor is found in the maybe, the possibly, the what if and the wow.

Here’s to a delicious week.

Categories
Life People

Dream

Last night on SNL, Tom Hanks joked that there are no more Saturdays; there’s only Today.

Pretty sure that’s why I dreamt last night that the official designation of “weeks” had been cancelled. There was some kind of new time measurement system.

I don’t remember much else about the dream, except that I was frantically trying to figure out how old everybody was under the new rules. It was very important work for some reason, and I was panicking because I couldn’t get it done.

This was the best cuppa for this morning’s mood.

Thanks, Tom.

Categories
Life

Choices

I tend to choose some cuppas more often than others.

The cute ones, the funny ones, the ones with special emotional meaning typically get used more often. Consequently, they end up at the front of the cupboard, quickly noticed.

It’s easy to forget the other cuppas that have gotten pushed to the back of the shelf. They are just as useful as the others; they just aren’t top of mind.

So, it’s up to me to reach back and find the ones that aren’t front and center, to find the options that might be a little worse for wear, not as obviously interesting, not as outwardly clever in their cuppa value. And when I do, I usually find one that speaks to me in a new way.

There is obvious value in making the obvious choice. However, if my goal is to broaden my perspective, the obvious choice isn’t always the best one.