My wife took the summer off from her job in a local tutoring program. You would not necessarily know it. When we were in Connecticut the last week of June, she received a call from a parent over an issue. This is not a singular event. When we were out at a concert at Albany’s Palace Theatre a couple of months ago, the same thing. We’ve gone out to dinner at restaurants at least twice in 2026, and she has to take a call.
Am I jealous? Nah, it’s important work. Okay, maybe a little bit jealous.
Her primary non-work task is taking care of her mom, which is surely a part-time job in its own right. She’s my MIL’s primary health care and fiscal proxy. All of MIL’s mail now comes to our house; just sorting it can be a task. In the spring, my MIL had to go to the hospital for a couple of days, then to a rehab center for nearly two months. Should MIL move to another facility? (That’s a whole ‘nother conversation.)
My wife also has had some personal financial decisions that got shoved to the last minute.
Define “fun”
Someone asked us what we’re doing for fun this summer. Other than going to the annual family reunion we just got back from, and seeing one concert, I’m not feeling it.
We ought to tackle the storage units we got for MIL’s stuff a couple of years ago. The house needs deep cleaning. These do NOT feel like “fun” tasks.
My wife has about a month remaining on her “vacation.” Maybe something will pop up. The picture of Mark Twain FLIRTING with my wife – or maybe it’s the other way around! – happened because we were going to the celebration of life of the ex-husband of a good friend, so we left for Hartford, CT, a couple of hours early. (I’ll have to write about it.)
Anyway, it’s my wife’s birthday today. I THINK we’ll do something fun today. Last week, she had an appointment every weekday. No, we’ll do SOMETHING; after all, it’s also our lunaversary.
There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of centrists who bemoan “political polarization” and call for a politics that abandons the “tribalism of left and right.”
Incarcerated People Lose Treasured Media When Prisons Change Tablet Contracts
Why most Black Americans say they never fly the American flag, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
Texas Public School Students Will Be Required to Read the Bible. The state passed what may be the first state-mandated book list for public school students. It focuses on classic literature and includes Bible excerpts.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called for a ban on data centers in rural areas.
Might as well
A list of resources for people and organizations involved in, or interested in, one or more operations for the 2030 Census.
May as Well Get COVID and Flu Shots on the Same Day, Study Says — Coadministration was not associated with an increased risk of side effects
The A.I.-Design Aesthetic That’s Taking Over the Internet. How Anthropic’s new tool, Claude Design, is creating overnight web-design clichés.
Street photographer Ray Di Pietro focuses his work sharply on his adopted hometown of Nashville. With little fanfare, he has attracted tens of thousands of devotees. His images are artfully composed, spontaneous, honest, and, well, kind.
DJT airport could spell doom for Palm Beach. Via Heather Delaney Reese: The agreement gives the Trump Organization control over which vendors can manufacture and sell merchandise at the airport. It gives Trump veto power over any biographical material displayed inside the building. A non-disparagement clause bars the airport from publishing anything that could tarnish his reputation. His own staff writes the version of his story that travelers see. And the trademark applications cover watches, jewelry, collectible coins, cufflinks, purses, backpacks, suitcases, umbrellas, tote bags, clothing, robes, neckties, belts, and plastic slippers designed for use at security checkpoints. They trademarked slippers at a public airport.
Air Force officer arrested at Capitol after calling for FOTUS impeachment, a civil-disobedience story
He Bought Hundreds of Stocks the Day Before He Paused Tariffs and Sparked a Historic Rally
Caught by gangland-style squeeze play/ Damned if they do, damned if they betray. (poem)
JD Vance appears most agitated because he believes America is engaged in a civilizational struggle — and it is losing.
MUSIC
The Washington National Cathedral marked the 250th anniversary of the United States with an interfaith service on July 3. Lifting themes of pluralism and the common good, We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident celebrates the nation’s ideals alongside an honest reckoning of its history and unfinished work.
When I was a kid, I saw reclining chairs in a handful of homes, and I thought they looked like 1) fun, but 2) something only “old” people would need.
Yet, at some point after we got married in 1999, we got a recliner; not immediately because we had zero money when my wife was in grad school, but possibly in 2005 or so. I decided that I loved the recliner.
Then in 2009, while riding my bike, I had a near-collision with an automobile, managing to break my rib. Now, I loved the recliner because it was the only way I could sleep.
But my wife got rid of the recliner. It’s because Midnight, our late cat, clawed the heck out of the upholstery. But, but, but… the chair still works! Can’t we just cover it? Sigh.
My MIL had a very nice recliner, which she had purchased for her husband when he got sick in the autumn of 2019; he died in early 2020. The chair moved with her from Oneonta, NY to her senior living center near Albany in 2021. But when she moved to another facility a couple of years later, she had far less room. So the recliner came to our place.
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
This one is much fancier than the previous recliner, with an electric switch that provides heat, massage, and more. It’s SoCozi; I mean, that’s the brand.
Plugging it in
Because it was getting warmer, my daughter (mostly) and I put the air conditioner into the living room window in mid-June. We couldn’t find the wooden blocks the AC sat on outside the window. But it seemed to be holding in place UNTIL my wife decided to sweep the front porch. The broom hit the porch swing, and the swing hit the AC.
The AC was reinstalled, but for no logical reason, the recliner got unplugged. Eventually – it was harder than you would think with my MIL’s stuff crammed in the area between the recliner and the AC -the plug was found. Once again, I can use the recliner, especially during my recent ailments. (You don’t know the half of it.)
This means, of course, that I AM an old person, which, as the cliché goes, beats the alternative.
Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!
Impetua loved a good meme and enjoyed playing this one. Let’s see if you feel the same.
Sunday Stealing Asks Your Name. What Is Your …
1. ROCK STAR NAME (current pet and first car)? Example: If you have a dog named Max and your first car was a Chevy Malibu, your rock star name would be Max Malibu.
This is incredibly difficult in that I have never owned a car. Moreover, I don’t remember makes or models of cars, including when I was growing up. Likewise, I know the make of our current auto, but not the model. (There was a recent NYT Connections; the only Pontiac I could name was the Firebird.) My ex, when I was in college, had a Volvo 140 series, I think? So I’m going with Stormy Amazon, because the previous line of Volvos included the Amazon.
2. RACECAR DRIVER NAME (the first names of your grandfathers)?
3. SOAP OPERA NAME (your middle name, town you were born in)?
Owen Binghamton, which is a REALLY good soap name! I used to watch the soaps with my maternal grandmother and her sister after school (Edge of Night, Secret Storm) after elementary school.
4. WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM NAME (your parents’ middle names)?
Elizabeth Harold? Harold Elizabeth?
Actually, long ago, certainly by high school, I developed my spy name, which was George N. Rowen. It contains most of the letters of Roger Owen Green. Also, the name I was most likely mistakenly called was George. There’s some visual similarity between George and Roger, which made me think that when trying to remember someone’s name, certain people go through a mental Rolodex.
5. ROMANCE AUTHOR NAME (favorite flower, favorite season/holiday)?
Lilac Thanksgiving. OBVIOUSLY, I need to start writing romance novels.
My wife took the summer off from her job in a local tutoring program. You would not necessarily know it. When we were in Connecticut the last week of June, she received a call from a parent over an issue. This is not a singular event. When we were out at a concert at Albany’s Palace Theatre a couple of months ago, the same thing. We’ve gone out to dinner at restaurants at least twice in 2026, and she has to take a call.
When I was a kid, I saw reclining chairs in a handful of homes, and I thought they looked like 1) fun, but 2) something only “old” people would need.
