October 2025 - Page 3 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

I need to do stuff

moderate dilation of the ascending aorta

I need to do stuff. Specifically, I need to clean my office to work on some reimbursements for my health care expenses. In the midst of starting to clean, I put things on top of other things, and it has become even more challenging to do what I was trying to do in the first place.

I started this process two months ago and have made no real progress. Not only is it irritating to me, but it’s probably a physical hazard. My wife came in here and almost tripped over the garbage can, which is the greater motivation. Her hand is still healing.

The only way I will clean this room and put away the recently played compact discs is if I don’t have to write a substantial blog post.

I wanted to say that I’m OK. I find art in my house every sunny day. Above is what the hallway looks like going upstairs, and below is a shrunken image. I’m not sure which one I like better, though I don’t think either picture really represents how cool it looks, but I can cope with that. It’s still discovered art, and multiple rainbows to boot.

Ticker

The one thing I can tell you is that I went to my cardiologist in late September. I like my cardiologist; he’s amusing. As I mentioned at some point, I have a “moderate dilation of the ascending aorta.” If the “maximum diameter of the enlarged segment” reaches 5.5 cm, I will need to have heart surgery. It was 5.1 last year, and it’s 5.1 this year, so no open heart surgery for me in 2025! Yay, me.

So, to the question: “How are you doing ?” I answer, “Well, I’m not having open heart surgery this year, which means I’m just fine!” Or fine enough for the nonce.

Why people hated the Yankees

Chief antipathy

Even though I was a fan, I remember why people hated the Yankees when I was growing up. They won too much. From 1949 to 1964, they were in the World Series every year except two, 1954 and 1959, a fact I didn’t even have to look up. They won 9 of the 14 Series. More recently, they won the Series in 2009 but haven’t gotten there since.

I thought about this as I realized I would be rooting against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Though they’ve “only” won two of the last five World Series, in 2020 and 2024, with the expanded number of teams, that’s still quite impressive.

Their current roster has a unicorn. Shohei Ohtani’s legendary game (throwing 10 strikeouts as a pitcher AND hitting three home runs) got the Dodgers there, but I have to root for the underdog.

It’s not that I dislike the Dodgers particularly, though I was distraught when they beat the Yankees in the 1963 Series. I liked Maury Wills, who stole over 100 bases the year before; Junior Gilliam; and Tommy and Willie Davis, who were NOT related. I also admired their two best starting pitchers, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Two teams, both established in 1977, will play in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series tonight. The Seattle Mariners have NEVER been in a World Series, and the Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back Series in 1992 and 1993 but haven’t appeared since.

NFL

I’ve discovered that I have developed an antipathy against the Kansas City Chiefs. Although I was glad they didn’t have a “threepeat” when they lost the Super Bowl in 2025, I was wary about claims that the Chiefs were getting special treatment. Well, until the game against the Detroit Lions on October 12.

I’m still rooting for the Lions, who lost last week and play tonight. And of course, the Buffalo Bills, the only NFL team that plays its home games in New York State, lost last week and have a bye this week.

I’ve discovered that, now that coach Bill Belincheck is coaching in the college ranks, I don’t have the antipathy towards the New England Patriots hat I did for years.

Yes, these are irrational feelings. So it goes.

Sunday Stealing — Meme Schmeme

Milky Way

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!

Cheri is a blogger from the beautiful state of Georgia who didn’t often participate in memes but stole this one because “for whatever crazy reason” it appealed to her. Let’s see how you like it.

Meme Schmeme

Complete the thought:

I AM that kid who used to write his address with way too much detail, adding North America, Northern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way galaxy, and probably other markers.

I LIVE by some basic mottos: the Golden Rule, helping others when you can, sharing information, listening to music a lot, and trying not to be an @$$4013.

I THINK I am a klutz with even the simplest physical tasks. We had to put new license plates on a vehicle this weekend. So I unscrewed the old plate on the back and put on the new one. Then I went to the front and unscrewed the plate. Where’s the replacement plate? I managed to attach two plates to the back of the car; they seem thinner than the ones I used to screw on, which was probably a half-century ago.

Fred MacMurray

I KNOW an inordinate amount of useful and more than occasionally mundane info. Just this weekend, there was a Facebook conversation about the television show My Three Sons. Someone wrote that they had a crush on one of the sons, Robby. In response, another asked if he was the oldest. I jumped in: “Originally, there were three bio sons, Mike, Robby, and Chip. But Mike got married and left; the dad then adopted Ernie. So if you were watching in 1965 or later, Robby was the oldest. Simple question, but complicated answer.” Except for the year, I KNEW all of that.

I WANT to declutter the house, and occasionally, my mind.

I WISH people would stop believing comments, often made by political figures, that are, to my mind, clearly lies. Also, the rationalization of bigotry by JD Vance, over “jokes” about gas chambers and rape, approving of slavery, and sneering about “watermelon people,” among other comments, reflects a moral bankruptcy.

I PRAY that people recognize that climate change is real and act to slow its progression since it is apparent that we are beyond reversing it.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

1995 #1 Hot Country Singles & Tracks

John Michael Montgomery, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn

Here are the 1995 #1 Hot Country Singles and Tracks. Joel Whitburn’s Hot Country Songs contains information about chart methodology.

“For decades, Billboard’s country singles charts were compiled by playlists reported by radio stations and sales reports reported by stores. These airplays and sales reports established the weekly rankings…

“On January 20, 1990, Billboard began basing the charts entirely on airplay with information gathered by the Nielsen Broadcast Data systems, a subsidiary of Billboard that electronically monitored actual radio airplay… These monitors can identify each song played by an encoded audio fingerprint.

“On December 5, 1992, Billboard began compiling the country singles charts strictly on the number of detections or plays registered by each song.

The songs

I Like It, I Love It – Tim McGraw, five weeks at #1

Check Yes or No -George Strait, four weeks at #1. As you may know, Strait has been selected for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2025. Someone gave me one of his compilation CDs, the 1991 Ten Strait Hits.

I Can Love You Like That – John Michael Montgomery, three weeks at #1. This song I know! I own a version by All-4-One. Some music pundit noted at the time that this convergence meant that the genres were essentially meaningless.

Summer’s Comin’– Clint Black, three weeks at #1

Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) – John Michael Montgomery, three weeks at #1

Not A Moment Too Soon – Tim McGraw, two weeks at #1

Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) – Pam Tillis, two weeks at #1

Old Enough To Know Better – Wade Hayes, two weeks at #1

This Woman And This Man – Clay Walker, two weeks at #1

Thinking About You – Trisha Yearwood, two weeks at #1

Any Man Of Mine – Shania Twain, two weeks at #1

You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone – Brooks & Dunn, two weeks at #1

Dust On The Bottle – David Lee Murphy, two weeks at #1

Tall, Tall Trees – Alan Jackson, two weeks at #1

That’s As Close As I’ll Get To Loving You – Aaron Tippin, two weeks at #1

All the rest of the songs are one week at #1

Gone Country – Alan Jackson

My Kind Of Girl – Collin Raye

You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody – George Strait

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter – Reba McEntire

Little Miss Honky Tonk – Brooks & Dunn. I read the titles to text, and the machine changed Honky to *****, which I thought was adorable.

Gonna Get A Life – Mark Chesnutt

What Mattered Most – Ty Herndon

Texas Tornado – Tracy Lawrence

I Don’t Even Know Your Name – Alan Jackson

I Didn’t Know My Own Strength – Lorrie Morgan

Not On Your Love – Jeff Carson

She’s Every Woman—Garth Brooks. I own only one other album represented on this list, Fresh Horses.

Piano at home

looking for musicality

Among the interesting things I receive because I have a blog is this recent email about a piano: “I hope this message finds you well. A friend of mine is giving away her late husband’s Yamaha Piano to an instrument lover. This instrument holds profound sentimental value for her, and she’d love it for it to find a new home with someone who’ll cherish it as much as her late husband did. She’d be delighted to share its history, condition, or other details if you’re curious. Thank you for considering this. Any help or advice is appreciated.”

It is astounding how many people are trying to unload what had been in the heart of the household. Please think of the last three minutes of It’s A Wonderful Life. Fillyjonk noted,” I knew people growing up who had pianos or guitars or other instruments, and they played for their own or their family’s entertainment.” She links to an on-point video.

When I was growing up, we had an upright piano at home. Though no one could really master it, we all noodled around, playing Chopsticks and the like. My maternal grandmother also had a piano; my father is sitting on the piano bench. The one year I took piano lessons, I practiced more at Grandma’s because it was a better instrument.

“For a long time, the piano was one of the first instruments U.S. children learned to play, but in 2025, fewer people are buying pianos for their homes. CBS Saturday Morning discovers why decreased sales might not be a bad thing.”

Sales

According to the Blue Book of Pianos, piano sales were estimated to be as high as 306,984 annually in 1925 for a population of about 116 million people. In 2024, per the Music Trades Corporation’s Music Industry Census, it was 17,294 pianos annually in a population of 340 million.

Hannah Beckett, a piano technician in northern Virginia, notes the increased popularity of alternatives. “‘At least a digital piano is going to have accurate sounds and notes, the keys are going to go up and down,’ she explains, a problem that older acoustic pianos can pose for beginners.’

“Beckett is optimistic about the future of playing the instrument.

“‘At some point, you’re going to start looking for musicality, for emotional expression, for shaping phrasing, for some of the things more advanced musicians are interested in,” she says hopefully, adding, ‘we’re going to see a resurgence of piano playing. I think we’re all kind of weary of screens at this point.'”