Povey Prattle

A mind test for the day. Yep, it's that time of year again for us to take our annual senior citizen test.  Good for younger smart asses too. Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it’s important to keep mentally alert. If you don’t use it, you will lose it !!! Here is a very private way to gauge how your memory compares to your last test. Some may think it is too easy, but the ones with memory problems may have difficulty. Take this test to determine if you’re losing it or not. The spaces below are so you don’t see the answers until you’ve answered. OK, RELAX, clear your mind and begin. #1. What do you put in a toaster ? Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast', just give up now and go do something else. And, try not to hurt yourself If you said, bread, go to Question #2. # 2. Say ...

Thanks to Wes Wasdyke who alerted me to this important essay. https://humanparts.medium.com/reflections-from-a-token-black-friend-2f1ea522d42d

Ethel Waters As reported by her friend Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Thurston In Zora's Autobiography "Dust Tracks on a Road" (1942) Book Jacket Zora reports the following as having been said by Ethel. ========================================== "It's nice to be talking with you, Zora" she told me another time. "Conversation is the ceremony of companionship". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaking of a man we both know, she said, "The bigger the lie he tells, the more guts he tells it with". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That man's jaws are loaded with big  words, but he never says a thing, she said speaking of a mutual friend. He got his words out of a book.  I got mine out of life". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "She shot him lightly and ...

A much trusted friend of mine who now lives in California wrote this: "I am convinced that the upper echelons of the administration are taking no useful action against the virus precisely BECAUSE its primary victims are Blacks, Latinex, immigrants (those are the folks at the meat packing plants), Native Americans, people experiencing homelessness, prisoners and nursing home people. If it were disproportionately impacting wealthy white people, woo-ee, Katy bar the door." My friend spent her working life as a journalist.  I think that she is on to the truth. The reported statistics from  the "opening up"  of  TRUMPITE  States such as Florida, where I now live show daily increases in the number of new infections,  giving credence to her opinion. So many lives are at stake, but the oligarchs do not give a damn.  Thanks California friend "S.R."  for pointing this out. Despite all my precautions I could be the next to be infected,  d...

Perhaps it's because we all live in our own discrete bubbles.   Perhaps it's because she was a woman. Perhaps it's because she was African-American. Perhaps, perhaps ;  but to my shame,  I had never heard of the great Edna Lewis until last Sunday. I heard about her because one of my very favourite Public Radio programmes is "The Splendid Table",  hosted by Francis Lam. The programme plays on the Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota public radio station ( WUSF ) on Sunday afternoons.  I try not to miss it. Last Sunday the programme was dedicated to the late and great  Edna Lewis.   You will find it worth your while to listen to it here. https://www.splendidtable.org/episode/668 What a good programme;  and what a great woman. Because Edna Lewis was one of the greats,  do take an hour to listen to the programme How I wish that I had known more about her.  I cherish a silly thought that "if only I had met her". BUT ...

When I first bought a  Smart 'Phone some four years ago, I chose a Samsung with the Android operating system, simply because Best Buy had them on sale for a bit over $100. It has served me well, but oh it is so heavy and clunky; and entirely prone to "pocket dialing". So I used the money I didn't have to spend on Auto Insce. renewal this year    (remember that I got a new policy with increased coverage when I got sick of AAA Insurance which has increased the rate they demand by over $500 in two years.   My new carrier has a much lower rate -  and since it was found by my Insce. Broker Firm which has been in business since 1927,  I trust them). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I bought the new 'phone at a Verizon Store.  It is smaller, slimmer and lighter than the Android ( yeah!).   In the olden days the vendors of Smart 'Phones would transfer...

Two week ago my neighbour Barbara B walked the first nine holes of the American course at Sarasota's Bobby Jones Golf complex (closed for play, but open for walkers, joggers, and cyclists). Today  (June 14th)  we walked the first nine holes of the British course ( pictured above). Such peace.  Such beauty.  We met a City employee called Doug, and told him that we were delighted to be able to walk the courses in the absence of play.  He told us that we had walked for 3+ miles. White asparagus with my lunch today.  So good, so very sweet, so tender. Yesterday (June 13th) my lunch included this Bird's Eye vegetarian "pseudo pasta", with some excellent sauce home made by my friend Rick P.  Oh so good!   It shouldn't really be called Pasta, but it is an elegant and healthy substitute for those who are like a low carb/starch option for the real thing.  It's an expensive option.  Just under four  b...