Daylight Savings Time

The clock on the wall of my computer says 5:04 a.m.  I woke up 20 minutes ago and the clock in the bedroom said 3:46 a.m.  I remembered I had forgotten to “spring ahead” last night, after plenty of reminders.

I happen to be an early riser – I’ve always been an early riser – so this is no big deal.  Shortly there’ll be a reminder that it’s officially Spring, the Vernal Equinox, but as I’ve said often, my Spring starts on Feb. 1 every year.  I know there’ll be bad weather after Feb. 1, but January is usually the worst month overall and for me, anyway, Feb. 1 is over the hump…..

I suppose today is only 23 hours long.  At least I don’t have to worry about Leap Year this year.  I’ve got another year to prepare for February 29.  And this year Easter is April 9 – at least in the western world. I think (I’m not looking it up) it’s always the Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, at least in the Christian venue.  On and on.  Succinctly, I don’t agree with the hubbub about the one hour.  Tomorrow, back to normal.

Have a great day.

My friend Christina got today off to a great start when she sent a link to a 3 1/2 minute piece from Carl Sagan a few hours back.  “I listened in on [my daughter’s] community meeting today. This is one of the video clips that was played. I was so moved by it that I wanted to share it with you.”

An early bonus for today came at the Minnesota Orchestra  Friday night.  It was the live Orchestra playing the magnificent sound track for National Geographics 2019 Symphony for the World.  (The link is to the National Geographic internet version of 55 minutes.)  Our evening was 2 1/2 hours of the most magnificent background music for the film, which screened on a huge screen behind the Orchestra.  Magnificent.  Here are the program notes.  Especially note the hi-lited section and take a look at the YouTube link: NatGeo World Symp.  Conductor Sarah Hicks is our own treasure.

Molly is another treasure, another on my list whose contribution is a rich assortment of seasonal writings and poetry gathered from here and there.  Here is her most recent, from March 9: Leopold March Geese Return.  Her note with the essay: “I have already seen a few geese, honking & moving north, plus some friends have also already seen some sandhill cranes heading the same direction…and swans and some ducks are also moving…

Finally, earlier this past week, I watched a lady draw a Ukrainian flag on the chalkboard at Caribou, and posted it in an earlier blog.  Since then, it has been slightly embellished by unknown persons.  Here it is as of Saturday, a not so silent witness – a reminder that each of us is only one, but we are one, and we do make a difference….

March 11 2023, Caribou Coffee Woodbury MN.  I saw the flag drawing being made, quietly and publicly, by another customer.  Later someone, perhaps the same lady, added “Slava Ukraine”; on another day came the tree, happy spring and friendly animals.  This is how communications can work.  A thought leads to action leads to….

We have difficulty, in these polarized times, talking with persons with different points of view.  Much of this is intentional political strategy – to build walls, not bridges.  My good friend, Larry, a story-teller, sums it up: “if I can hear your story it is harder to hate you”, or words to that effect.  I recently watched a superb documentary on the process of communication between people with profoundly different opinions.  The film is Beyond the Divide, which is available on-line.  It is about 90 minutes, worth every single minute.

POSTNOTE: Another must-read item, similar, was received early Sunday afternoon.  At minimum, start with the paragraph that begins, “Finally…” to the end.