Ruminations on 41

 I turned 41 two weeks ago. I celebrated twice, once with friends and again with my sister and a family friend. I let the Facebook wishes roll in, and I tried to respond or "like" to all 175 wall posts (I didn't finish). I barely have any family left, and I'm still feeling some post-pandemic social isolation, so having a "found family" of friends and colleagues means more than it ever has.

I'm trying to put time in perspective, but it's been coming out in random and esoteric ways. A child that was in third grade when the pandemic shut everything down is now starting ninth grade. Most of this year's incoming seniors were born in early to mid-2008, and the incoming sixth graders born in early to mid-2014. I remember sitting at a high school assembly in March 2022, where a group of Ukrainian-American students expressed their heritage as Russia invaded their homeland. They were mostly freshmen, and now they're college freshmen. It's the little things you notice when you're an over-glorified babysitter for teenagers.

Next time: my annual NFL preview.

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Random Notes, July-August 2025

 The bad news is overwhelming:

+ I worked in public radio for a little over two years (2003-06) and I still volunteer for that same station every Saturday. Of all the stops in my radio journey, this one was the least dysfunctional. Additionally, as someone who didn't grow up with cable, PBS Kids was a reliable daytime TV option over the summer; in fact, "Square One TV" was my first exposure to sketch comedy. It was disappointing, but not surprising, that the Trump-led GOP slashed federal funding for both in late June. A lot of large-market PBS and public radio stations will be fine (for now) but I worry about smaller stations in red areas, especially where the majority of the programming is canned or syndicated. Conservatives will celebrate because of an alleged liberal bias, ignoring that public radio has music and news/talk formats. With the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutting down in a few weeks, the support of viewers like you is vital beyond words. 

+ Then there's Stephen. I wasn't a regular viewer of the second incarnation of the Late Show from the get-go, but by late 2019 it was appointment TV. Supposedly it was a budget move --Stephen would do interviews on location, something his predecessor never did-- but it smacks of politics. It is possible to be #1 in late night *and* lose money, but I would pin that on the slow death of network TV. If I'm watching Colbert, my cat instinctually jumps on my lap and pins me down (photo for evidence). I don't have live TV at the moment, so I watch Colbert and Seth Meyers the day after on YouTube; besides, I'm usually in bed before 11 CST. 

+ The dominant news story this summer, however involves a convicted pedophile that died six years ago. President Trump has seemingly gone through all five stages of grief (anger, especially) as he navigates a long-simmering scandal involving his late, estranged friend. The release of Epstein's documents has become a liberal dog whistle mirroring conservatives' obsession with Hunter Biden's laptop, only except Epstein didn't play computer solitaire or Minesweeper. Trump has admitted there was a falling out, but some damage was done; the far reaches of MAGA are anti-pedophile, and even if Trump did not have relations with underage women, the connection to Epstein is still damning. 

+ I needed a respite from the stupidity and vindictiveness. My sister persuaded me to fly to Anaheim with her this weekend; she's going to Disneyland, I'm taking a mini road trip to San Bernardino for baseball. We're also meeting our cousin (a manager for Disney Resorts) at Downtown Disney. 

I wish I had some badinage or repartee, but this has been a slog of a summer. I hope you're all doing well.

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