Well, I had unexpectedly purchased the subscription service to WordPress, and although I canceled all future years of service, I am stuck with this until 2023.

I have been a long-time user of WordPress, back in 2008 when I got a free account through my library school in order to complete assignments and participate in class discussions, and analyze how I used the service; that was back in the stone age compared to how WordPress is now.

WordPress has a lot going for it, and I do want to bring my blog into the 3rd decade of the 21st century. Right now, I work at the Lutheran School of Nursing in Saint Louis, MO. I am proud of our little school which is just now getting back on track as far as accreditation and being financially sound. We will be reviewed again by the Missouri Board of Nursing this month. In order to ensure our success, we have raised the bar as to the admission of students and the requirements they must bring here in order to be successful. It will be a difficult process, but we have a great staff and instructors, and we will look forward to our Director’s motto of “growing to greatness”.

I live in a baseball town! That town happens to be St. Louis, MO. Yesterday, the city had a party and it was no ordinary party. You see, Opening Day here in St. Louis is arguably the greatest day of the year. It renews and reinvigorates our town, and I cannot think of any major league baseball team that does the whole affair quite like St. Louis.

Our city has many things going against it, but for a few shining moments every April, there is collective hope and joy. From inside Busch Stadium, where Clydesdales march to the tune of Budweiser’s “The Kind of Beers” to the Cardinal Hall of Famers being chauffered in on 2022 Ford Mustangs to each individual player in his Ford F-150, the event can be called “stunning” indeed.

I am envious of not being able to have a ticket to Opening Day, but that hasn’t happened for me going back to the 2004 season. Needless to say, there was hoopla at that game too. My brother and I had to go down to the old Busch Stadium and wait in line for security checks and other rituals. You see, that day, then-President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch. It was only 3 years from 9/11, so this security thing was still a little new to us. Anyway, after spending half of the day at the game, we were all sent home happy with a Cardinal victory.

Fast forward to 2022 – whew that was quick! Well, anyway this big ritual in our river hometown brings about a newness that (at least in the baseball world) everything can be reset and we can take comfort that the Cardinals are on a one-game winning streak and that there are 161 more games in which we can be excited and happy. Let’s Play Ball!!! Oh, and by the way, Cardinals 9 Pirates 0!

Isn’t this nifty! I have posted many blogs going back to when I got a WordPress account many years ago. I am looking forward putting out some good blogs in the days and weeks to follow. I find blogging to be highly therapeutic, and an essential part of being a librarian. I will be posting about many interesting topics here; sometimes once or twice a week, sometimes more often. Blogging will aid in keeping the good old mind to be “mindful” and possibly practice mindfulness.

Other times, I plan to focus on a specific subject or the aspects of a topic. When reviewing a book, I plan to utilize either MLA or APA standards of style. Hence, the blog is wide open.

This past Saturday evening, my wife and I attended her 50th Class Reunion from McCluer High School in St. Louis, MO.

The event was actually spread over 3 days (which was a nice idea)! The Reunion was planned for the the greater part of 18 months and lots of thought and logistics went into making it a successful event.

There were some good things which I really liked. First, there wasn’t a hard and fast dress code, more of a casual event, even though it was in the evening and I wore a suit for the entire time LOL. I also really enjoyed the music and the DJ, and there was plenty of 70’s music, even spanning the whole decade of the 1970’s. This was a welcome change, because we have gone to wedding receptions and Christmas parties and the only music there is the new 21st Century music, which is incomprehensible at times and downright disappointing as well.

My wife is not one to really go to these type events, but I always told her that I would go to her 50th Reunion of the Class of 1971. In some ways, there is always a somber note especially when there was a video monitor with the class pictures of those who have passed away – many were very young! On a lighter note, there wasn’t too much in the way of “remember when” conversations. These people were there to have a good time and share more about their families and particularly their grandkids.

As the evening grew to a close, there was an opportunity for the class, one last time, to take a group picture. I not only got many pics, but I also recorded just a little over a minute of video. Although everybody was celebrating, I am sure that for many alums, it was also a sad time because from that moment on, this event was probably the last time they would see their classmates and good friends. Reunions are great, but their graduation is frozen in time as perhaps one of the MOST significant events of their lives. So Hail to the Comets, the graduating class of 1971 for McCluer High School in St. Louis, MO

What amazes me is that the athletes are giving it their ALL despite the world being in the midst of a pandemic, which now seems to be worse in Japan. There are so many things that are working against these athletes….imagine a stage production with no audience; that’s what each and every member from each country has to deal with.

What is particularly difficult is that many of these athletes so very much want their fans, friends and loved ones to be a part of their experiences and accomplishments. This will not happen at the Tokyo games. I believe that emptiness factor even takes away from those who are thousands of miles away watching on TV.

Many of these athletes (I should say way over 90%) will never obtain any monetary gain from their sports. There aren’t too many people that pay to come out to an archery or fencing meet. This is too bad, particularly since many of the big time NBA and WNBA players are at the Games….you know that they are being paid to participate in their sports as a living.

From a purely amateur sense, these Games will not be forgotten because the true glory of accomplishments, think faster, stronger, and farther, these athletes can hold their heads high because of the love for their sport.

Writing this morning from the retooled Lutheran School of Nursing. It has been particularly hot in our building this morning (as well as in the past two weeks). It is by this that one can never neglect, nor take for granted the power of A/C. We expect that our HVAC system will be completely refurbished as we get along to the next month, but right now, we’ll have to break out our Bermuda shorts, flip-flops, bikinis, tank top tee shirts, etc…. well, maybe not.

Our school will persevere and has through the roughest of time, whether it be admin snafus, logistics, extreme heat and cold. We’ve had it all, but for now, I believe we have a good future with our students coming aboard next month.

Yesterday can only be considered ordinary, but wait! Can any date seem ordinary? The day, 6 June 1944, now over 80 years past will ALWAYS be considered special to me.

Although it precedes my birthday by 13 years, I have a connection to it, in more ways than one. The Greatest Generation fought in WWII, both my Dad and 4 uncles included. On June 6 1944, my Uncle Buddy (Christ Malatich) parachuted into the black night and cold winds of Normandy to do something very special. All of the resources of this country were behind him, as well as the millions of Men and Women who fought and died in the War – the Big One as it is and was called by the Greatest Generation.

Those of us, Baby Boomers and beyond, I believe cannot absorb what sacrifice our dads and moms made. They grew up in the Great Depression. Each of their days back then can’t be considered ordinary, because their future was defined by Depression – both financial and emotional. Much like COVID-19 in our time.

But out of the Depression they came, ready and willing to fight a war, with numerous battles taking place in faraway places. My Mom, who passed away last May due to COVID-19, thought the world was coming to an end when she heard President Roosevelt’s speech on Pearl Harbor. She was just a kid in high school; my dad as well.

What this comes to is memories, not only for me, but far all of us who cherish freedom and liberty. When my Uncle jumped out of that C-47 in the wee and early hours of the 6th of June, his day wasn’t ordinary by anyways or means. He was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. None of his days would be ordinary henceforth. Nor was his mind and demeanor ever the same – those are things which he held close in his heart and mind. PTSD wasn’t even in the English lexicon as yet.

The U.S. went on to win the war in both the European and Pacific theatres and our country would never live or breathe an ordinary day…their future was living under the shadow and specter of a new type of weapon. One that could destroy the world many times over. We lived in a Cold War, but America had prosperity (relatively and not so much prosperity for other ethic groups – this wasn’t shared too well) in virtually every aspect of life.

My point is this! Let’s not forget their sacrifice, for nary a word was spoken about D-Day 6 June 1944 this year. Freedom comes at a great cost, so let’s cherish it, hold it close, and always remember to live each day “out-of-the-ordinary”, and hope and pray God willing, for a better tomorrow. Let this country heal and unite – it is never too late my friends!