Stu

I miss HUGS. I'll never EVER take them for granted! I miss my mom. You'd think that would lessen over the years. It's been the opposite. I miss the gang at S.T.A.R. at Wayne State University. I was such a young punk back then...they were my intellectual idols! I miss the beach. Really gotta get out there this summer! I miss doing yard work with my lil' buddy, J. We had some really good chats working outdoors. I miss my colleagues and students at Irene's. Hope to be back with 'em one day soon. I miss good manners; common kindness. I miss Small's, Leland City Club, the old pre-fire C.J. Barrymore's, Wooly Bully's circa 1988, Nitro's, LaNotte's (and its successor, Chaplain's Comedy Club). I miss "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." I miss Weight Watchers chocolate mint pops. And Choc-O-Malts! I miss the Dutch Elm trees that made the streets look like leafy tunnels, and the mighty roar when the wind blew through them. I miss J.L. Hudson's, Sears (AND Roebuck), Arlan's (Mt. Clemens) and Neisner's "dime store." I miss the Bob-Lo boats AND Bob-Lo island! AND Edgewater Amusement park! I miss "The Top of the Flame" restaurant downtown. I miss Leonard Nimoy, Mark Lenard, DeForest Kelly and Jimmy Doohan... and the great stories they made. I miss playing in the woods. (And the time for play in general.) Ah, I could go on. I won't.

To some, Goth is a look. To others, it's who they are. Nothing wrong with dabbling, I guess, but Goth is more than make up and black clothes.

There REALLY needs to be a "haha" button on here.... 😆

I'm bored with Zoom. Great for work. Not so hot for socializing. I would be totally up for in-person gatherings again.

Seems to me that if a god or gods were actually in charge, there would be no COVID to be saved FROM. We humans care for our kids by removing hazards from their environment and keeping a close eye on them. We don't drop an angry pitbull in the room and then snatch the baby away "just in time" for the baby to think, "Thank mom/dad for saving me!"

Agree with Scary; we've seen how theocracy works in other parts of the world. "Freedom" only goes to those who are part of "the failthful."

I think you would be amazed by what a good massage could do for you. A good therapist with a medical focus (avoid the "woo-woo" crowd) can do wonders.

Wow, I missed it, too! Hope it was an awesome birthday!

Uh, oh! Guess what day it is? GUESS what day it is? <Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap....!> Okay, here we go, 1, 2, 3, 4.... "Happy Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday YOU! Happy Birthday Tron From your ol' buddy, Stu!" WHOO HOO!!!!! Hope it ROCKS HARD!!!

SUCH A DEAL I have for you! LOL! 😆

Aw, thanks! Didn't really DO anything.... but am happy to help if I can. Hope the truck STAYS fixed! 😊

The topic is fascinating and she's quite entertaining!

Such a cute piece of fuzz n' needles!

Wait.... what did I do? 🤗

Aye, Captain! Thanks! ❤️

Anyone remember Neisner's? My folks always referred to it as "the dime store." Also Arlan's in Mt. Clemens. Loved their toy section as a kid!

Obviously most of us white folks can't imagine what it must be like for our black friends, family and fellow humans. A lot of us seem to want to jump right to the end, saying "why does color even matter"? And while that is the ideal, and a day may come when such a thing is forgotten, that day is NOT at hand. Not by a longshot. Change is hard, especially when it involves hearts and minds. I just hope that this isn't just another moment that passes by without any significant change. I'm hopeful that we can seize this day and, this time, make it stick. This killing has to stop. The hatred has to stop. And, yes, it looks like we've got our hands full educating the ignorant as well. <sigh>

Let's make this more basic: 1. Murder is wrong. Full stop. 2. Bigotry is wrong. People who might be different than you are in some way are still PEOPLE. Do not abuse or mistreat them. 3. Right now, black people are being targeted by government employees acting in MY NAME. If I don't speak up, roll up my sleeves and ACT to stop it, then I am complicit. I refuse to condone state-sanctioned murder. 4. Diversity is a STRENGTH. How rich is our culture because of all of the different people from all walks of life who immigrated here? How lucky are we to be able to experience such diversity, right here at home? How much better is our country because of it? THAT is the definition of being "blessed." We need to celebrate our difference as much as we celebrate our unity. 5. We need to be here for each other. We're all we've got. We need to stand up for our fellow human beings. Sometimes the oppressors are our friends and family -- we cannot hide, slink away or bury our heads in the sand. We need to challenge their bigotry and work to change hearts and minds. We (as white people) need to CLEAN HOUSE. Tolerance is complicity; just as the cops who stood by as their colleague murdered Mr. Floyd. Don't stand idly by. Speak up. Educate. And, for pity's sake, HELP. Make your representatives know your name! (Do you know theirs?) Let them hear from you weekly, if not daily. BE A PEST. 6. Make it about LOVE. Don't shirk the word. We talk a lot about "hate crimes." It's easy to hate. We hear that word a LOT. So where's the love? Don't we ALL want it? Don't we all crave it? And doesn't it feel SO much better to GIVE it? WHY can't life be about love? Why can't we help, nurture and lift up our fellow human beings and help them achieve their dreams? It costs nothing to offer words of encouragement, or simply staying the hell out of someone's way. Even though I'm an atheist, I've always liked the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" ethic., but I also add the other half: "do NOT do to others anything you do NOT want done to yourself." Think of the person you love the most. What would you be willing to do for them? Now think of a stranger and ask yourself, why WOULDN'T you do the same for them? We're never going to make it as a species if we cannot learn to love one another and see and accept the humanity of EVERYONE. Right now, it MUST be about black lives matter. The killing must stop. The situation is untenable, and injustice cannot be tolerated anymore. Maybe one day we can ALL look back and say, "those were dark times, I'm glad that's all behind us." But that time is NOT now, nor is it anytime soon. Not without work. Not without unity. We need to be relentless: as the Marines like to say, adapt, improvise and overcome. And, frankly, I don't care WHY some people or groups ally themselves to this vision. If they do it out of guilt, pride, virtue signaling, anger.... whatever.... as the old saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Welcome aboard. We love you, too. Just my thoughts and ramblings. If you've gotten this far, thanks for your eyeball time.

So you're taking a peek into our future, eh? Scary times.

Yup! And I would've done the same thing. It must be SO cool to be him! 😄

The launch was fantastic! Say what you will about Elon Musk, but his spacecraft ROCK! Everything about his hardware is state-of-the-art. Form AND function, all operating together. I only hope that all of the attention to detail pays off in safety and success for this and future crews as they "boldly go."

Happy Birthday, my Evil Queen!

You are awesome!

As someone who has been privileged enough to hear you sing, I would encourage you to fight past those nerves and share that voice! You truly have an amazing talent. I've been a DJ for a very LONG time, and I know talent when I hear it. True story!

A judge, as in a court order. Things are kinda nebulous at the moment, though; it's unclear what the scope of the remaining order might be. And, naturally, that is no doubt by design, so that if they want to entangle us in a legal mess, they can. In any case, all should be clear in about 2 weeks.