coming up for air

Well,  you may have noticed that the Bottom Feeder has been dark for a period of time.   You may have wondered where the Feeder went, and may have even looked in things like:

So I’m happy to report you won’t find him there either, nor would you find him in the patient log of Johns Hopkins Hospital.   No, there is a much happier explanation which recently concluded with

with FOJTY leaving in his “mint chip” rent-a-racer

And a few days later the traditional salute from FOJTE as he departs for DCA and a trip back to reality

Both sons were so gracious as to spend some of their time coming out here and seeing us and doing the long list of chores that were generated by MFO and myself.  Part of which turned into a “Staining the Fence” operation which turned out to be much more work than planned, but it does look nice.  Also both are accomplished grill masters and we were able to have several good meals thereby, with local beef.   We also had a special treat when a friend obtained some dry aged strip steaks

And came and grilled it for us.  Over used term, but actually was some of the best stuff I’ve ever put in my mouth.  What a treat!

Having them visit tugged at our heart strings, and thoughts of “moving back” have begun creeping in our brains, but that’s a whole different story.

Well, if your memory is really sharp you may remember I was yakking about Objective A or something which got shoved into the background.  Although not quite as glorious as family visits, it does keep rearing its head.

As I spend a lot of time pushing words around I pay attention to popular usage, and current trends.   I personally try to say what is on my mind, being as literal as possible. Just say what you mean!  For instance, there are phrases creeping in that drive me nuts.   Here are but a few that particularly drive me nuts:

Me:   Hey (so and so) could you talk to (so and so) and ask about..

Millennial:  why, yes, I would be glad to reach out to them.

Me: don’t reach, just talk

Me: so how did the event go?  Did you make some money? Or how did you do on your exam?

Millennial:   I crushed it!!

Me:  I’m sorry to hear that, were there any injuries?  Were you arrested for damage of property?

Me: what are the objectives for the next ?

Mill: we’re taking it to the next level!

Me:   Huh? Where are those levels written down?

Me: How are the new rules of procedure for the meetings working out?

Mill:  they’re a real game changer!

Me:  oh, I thought we were doing rules for procedures.  Are we doing something different now?

Me:  Could you tell me what (so and so) said?

Mill: sure, I would be glad to share it.

Me: great, but could you just tell me?

And lastly (for now) one from the world of sports, usually in reference to a football running back:  “he just gets stronger as the game goes along!”  Huh?  How is that physically possible?

Now, I should hasten to add that several of the loyal readers sometimes use these phrases, but i think that's largely because of the reality they operate in.  

Anyway, just say what you mean, don’t add frills!  It could be a game changer for you!

And really lastly, I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but I lost respect for the USA women’s soccer team in the world cup.  I know others won’t share the same opinion and accuse me of being “soft” or “fuzzy”.   I was very embarrassed for Thailand’s when our players jumped around, hugged each other, and carried on after scoring the 13^th goal on an obviously vastly overmatched team.

I think they toned it down a bit lately, for which I give them credit.  Soccer is a funny sport in a lot of respects, but I kind of hate to see games swing in the balance of one official’s subjective view of play.  VAR helps, but when you see goals (and games!) taken away because “her heel was just an inch away from the line”.  And the only reason USA (USA…USA…USA) won yesterday was because they were awarded two penalty kicks.  No clean goals.  LeBron always gets the calls!

Okay, the Feeder should be back on the proverbial horse now, ready to go to the next level!

And a huge thank you to both FOJ’s for helping us out.  We certainly will do everything we can to remain in the digs and my continual reminder to
DFD

And NMMJ

Ps a subject for future posting was a wine dinner at Elements, and a dinner at CD cafe