Starry, starry night. B’day photos. Open give-and-take, but only on one side.

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Last night was crystal clear. No clouds, no moon, temperature in the low 20s.  Pitch black by 5:00 PM.  I have never seen the stars so visible in Kyiv.

Eddie got a ride home from his music rehearsal, dropping him off at 7:00 at our usual bus stop on the other side of the railroad, about a mile away. He called to ask if I would meet him. Everything is frozen solid. Kind of a slippery outing for an older guy. However, the only light he had was from his cell phone, which would have been totally inadequate.

I met him at the train station and we walked home together. Slowly, without slipping. I asked him to show me how much he could see with his telephone light alone. Almost nothing. We were both glad I went. The solution will be to buy him a good flashlight and remind him to take it with him.

Here are the photos I said would be coming of my birthday dinner. First is the group sitting around the table. Between the inadequate flash and Corel Photo Paint I think it fairly well captures the evening. As I wrote, this is the first time we’ve configured to tables like this. It worked – good conversation.

Here’s a picture of me wearing the apron somebody gave me. It says “top guy in the village.” That was how I felt.

Here’s a picture of another gag gift, the 80 Hryvnia that were worth $10 ten years ago, two dollars today. They are a portent of what 100 hryvnya will be worth on my hundredth.

Us on team reality are inclined to disagree with one another and change our minds with regard to Covid facts. Here is a video of Ryan Cole, one of the people who has been right all along the line, saying that what people have been claiming to be parasites, graphene oxide and self assembling electronics are probably not that.

This is what science ought to be – an exchange of opinions. It is too bad that the honest exchanges taking place do not include our governments, hospitals, medical schools, health authorities or mainstream journalists.  Intrepid outsiders are doing a great job even though the above-mentioned are withholding a lot of data that would be very useful.

Among the hordes of people who are finding their voice, reporting their own experiences, are the vaccine injured. I have only glanced at this video. I assume it to be authentic and thank God that Ukraine was far down the list for access to these supposedly miraculous Covid preventative shots. Until the middle of 2021 you had to be a very special person in order for the needle to be allowed near your arm. I love being not so special. By the time the jabs were generally available here the prevailing general skepticism had become quite specific. 

That’s the news from Lake WeBeGone at 11:30 this Tuesday morning. By some miracle we have had power for three hours now. The temperature has crept up to 55. The good-looking woman and I slept snug as bugs in rugs. Zoriana, who slept in Oksana’s heavy sleeping bag, is coughing less. The challenge of the day will be to keep the kids occupied.

Graham