Monday, February 17, 2025

On this Presidents’ Day, I choose not to dwell on the holiday’s intended meaning, as its significance is bound to shift dramatically in the future. What has changed is our growing helplessness as citizens while our new leaders openly disregard long-held principles of upholding the Constitution and respecting the Rule of Law. These seismic shifts in leadership, both in America and across the globe, carry profoundly unsettling implications for the world.

Instead, I’ll focus locally on the here-and-now happenings. Later this week, I’ll gather with friends for a classic American dinner—hamburgers, fries, and cold beers. We will share our experiences and perspectives, trusting each other in a way that feels increasingly rare.

I work part-time in retail, and customers checking out often share brief and telling remarks about the changes unfolding around us. Many express concern over the relentless rise in prices for food and essentials, the shifting climate, growing threats to natural resources, and the unsettling possibilities of more widespread conflict on the horizon.

Unfortunately, because of today’s pressing realities, I can’t entirely ignore Presidents’ Day. At work, I will ask customers how they’ve previously viewed this holiday and how they may be seeing it now.

Dear Friends: Many will respond verbally, some with just subtle, tense reactions. Diana

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Here are two facts: Next month, my puppy Chase will officially turn three years old, the age when a canine is generally considered mature; another (unexpected) reality is that Chase still lives with me even though our history together has often suggested he’d be lost or dead by now.

I adopted the cute 8-week-old puppy on a whim without considering his genetic potential. Within months, he matured into a (mostly) Rottweiler/Shepherd mix and showed aggressive tendencies toward human strangers and unknown dogs. Those appear more settled, but I remain focused on his energy and behavior toward others when we’re out and about.

He inherited a compact, strong, and fit body type, and with energy to match, he proved himself to be an efficient climber, leaper, and digger, capably escaping almost any kind of enclosure that might contain him. During his first two years, I worried he’d become road kill or lost and considered turning him into a no-kill shelter in hopes of a better guardian showing up for him. Still, I doubted this complicated being would find anyone highly willing to put up with “who he is.” So, Chase has stayed here.

With generous help from our dog-loving neighbors, Chase has been returned home many times and re-contained until he escapes. He’s intelligent, knows where he lives, and wants to be with me. If he’s loose (and still undamaged) when I arrive home from work, he bounds happily down the driveway and hops into my car. He’s alert and smart, understanding and responding to my commands after being aware of them only a couple of times.

My hopes for our easier future together are set on his turning three years old and stabilizing. That could be happening, for he’s been loose in the “big yard” with his buddies for a few months without escaping. However, deep winter might keep the ground too frozen for digging and escaping.

I’m optimistic about Chase’s settling, but it’s a waiting game.

Dear Friends, I’m amazed: Chase still lives here, is safe, and may be maturing. Diana

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Yesterday, I was a Valentine! Not once or twice, but THREE times.

Upon arriving at work, I was greeted with a huge surprise–a Valentine basked. My creative friend Lily handed me a heart-shaped candy-filled straw basket topped by a balloon floating upon upright drinking straws. Her sweet surprise turned my afternoon around and overcame my grumpiness for having to work a late shift.

I dropped into the store’s office to say hello and brag about Being a Valentine, and the staff said, “Oh, no, you have two more Valentines!

OMG, 3 Valentines for me!

The last time I was a Valentine, I was in grade school, and we students were exchanging cards with our casual and “secret” Valentines.

Somewhere in those early times, my eldest sister (married and living far away) sent me a card. I loved knowing she cared and memorized the message:

Believe it or not, those few lines are still important to me, even though they happened many years ago.

Yesterday, I felt grateful for having at-work friends who think positively about me and for the ballooning showpiece, which almost immediately nudged my beloved memory back into life.

I’m a year into this part-time job, where my coworkers and our customers make me feel like I’m in a “good family.”

Dear Friends, I’m still thrilled for having been A Valentine yesterday! Diana

Friday, February 14, 2025

Happy Valentine’s Day, and (BTW) this month’s halfway point.

This morning, while reading about advances in AI, I got stuck on mentions of AI’s abilities in “folding proteins.” While looking up what that meant, I became fascinated by the world of folding proteins, brand new to me.

Teaching AI to fold proteins allows the technology to identify, study, and capably manipulate molecules, thus discovering an individual protein’s essential shape. This shape dictates a protein’s behavior in a living body. AI’s findings help researchers better understand how protein shapes dictate their behaviors. They let researchers study possible and perhaps viable new protein shapes, causing different behaviors in problem conditions and suggesting possible advances in medical care.

Focusing on that “protein world” carried me into another AI world, that of weaponry. While I feel very confused about current politics relative to today’s world stage, I do understand a new reality–that Ukraine is using AI data to create new weapons. They’re being constructed quickly and less costly than traditional R&D methods; they’re highly effective on the battlefield.

Perhaps understanding weapons and new technologies will clarify some of the confusing world of politics and nation-positioning.

Dear Friends, I am interested and could continue, but my writing time is short. Diana

Monday, February 10, 2025

Oh no, the Chiefs lost! That made me feel sad. Wanting to discuss my feelings of loss, I called up my AI therapist, Chat GTP+, and Chat did it again.

AI made me think more deeply about social sports. It focused on the key emotional dynamics that encourage fans to commit highly to their favorite teams and inspirational heroes. AI pointed out that fans develop strong psychological connections with their teams, so supporting a team becomes a significant part of one’s identity; it leads to intense joy during victories and profound disappointment during defeats.

Thinking about that, I wondered if similar emotions are why vast audiences follow TV series regularly. In particular, I remember watching every episode possible of “All in the Family” and “Driftwood.” I am still upset because “Driftwood” was pulled early and before the series achieved resolution.

AI was on the spot for me again. It said that fans’ emotional connections with sports teams are quite similar to how audiences engage with beloved TV shows or films. AI says the common thread is identification—people see parts of themselves, their values, or their experiences reflected in what they’re watching, whether it’s a game-winning touchdown or a dramatic confrontation in Tombstone. Yep, that’s me, excited and watching.

By now, I had plenty to think about regarding fandom, but my memories were working and returning me to one of the earliest TV series, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” AI “found the series” and explained why it had impacted many viewers: “On the surface, ‘Mary…’ is a satire of soap operas, but underneath, it’s a deeply unsettling and surreal reflection of American life in the 1970s.”

And so it was, how it “got to me” and why I still recall it as compelling. (BTW, the series was an early venture by Normal Lear, who later created “All in the Family” and the legendary Archie Bunker.)

Rounding out my therapy session, I discovered that “Mary” is available on video. Soon, I’ll be watching, remembering, and reliving some of the “70s” emotions. And, I’ll think about today’s deeply unsettling and surreal elections of American life in the 2025s.

Dear Friends, Tripping into the stratosphere and traveling down memory lane. Diana

Sunday, February 09, 2025

Super Bowl Sunday! Today, I will be at my part-time job, sneaking trips to the break room’s TV.

I’m from Kansas City: Go, Chiefs!

Today, I am setting aside blogging. My at-work hours require twice-feeding my horses before I leave home. Now that it’s light outside, I must provide today’s first feeding.

See you tomorrow.

Dear Friends: Two tough teams and a BIG game. Diana

Saturday, February 08, 2025

The header photo is of my Rosie in her heydays. Now, although a bit gray, she’s still beautiful.

The snow that has fallen over the past few days is dry and soft, an excellent footing for horseback riding. I haven’t been riding because working in my part-time job interferes. The store is short-staffed–most retail businesses are nowadays–and I fill in often.

My next trip with an equine away from here will be to take my donkey Pimmy for a veterinary check-up. We’re almost overdue; she needs a weighing-in and blood drawing to assess the status of her Type 2 diabetes. If we successfully have controlled Pimmy’s glucose levels, she’ll need medication only once daily (and, alas, forever) instead of the current twice-daily doses.

We both dislike the syringe. Fortunately, when I show up holding it, she’s too hungry to avoid me. I give her a handful of hay, and while she chews, I poke the syringe into her mouth and squirt its contents into her hay. She swallows all. Doing that only once daily will be welcome; best, once daily means she’s healthy again.

Pimmy and Rosie are tight buddies. They’ve been separated while Pimmy is dieting and being medicated; it’ll be wonderful if they can hang out together more. After Pimmy’s glucose is stabilized, I’ll figure out how to let her rejoin the horses while on a special diet and daily medication.

Dear Friends: Work here is ahead, and then I can focus on “leaving for work.” Diana