Me and John Irving

We've had some marvelous weather here in Southern New England in the last week or so (we had a day where the temperature approached ninety, so perhaps 'marvelous' is a bit hyperbolic), and everything, or nearly, seems to be in bloom.

We had our first lawn mowing of the season last Thursday, thanks to the kindness of our son, whose father has become too feeble to push even a self-propelled lawnmower, (as he was unable to shove the snowthrower around on our sidewalk during the winter) and we looked pretty good afterwards, though the air was heavy with the smell of onion grass of which we have much many. 

We have a trio of forsythia bushes that are shaping up nicely and a Prarifire Crabapple Tree that I bought last spring at a home improvement warehouse because it seemed to speak to me, and amazingly, I have not killed (yet). I am heartened that I can help anything grow. 

With all the flowers and trees in bloom, I should be ashamed to complain about the infestation of all manner of bugs, and yet I do. However, I have discovered there's something to be more concerned about than insects, and that's bears. It seems we are having a BOGO on them here in Connecticut. 

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for one riding a bicycle, though I fear, without thumbs, they won't be able to work the bell on the handlebars.
bill kenny

No Plan(et) B

I'm writing this in observance of today, Earth Day 2026. The writing, not necessarily the celebration, may surprise some who believe I create this every day by opening a dictionary over a blank piece of paper and shaking it vigorously and then gathering up the words that have fallen out. I wish it were that easy. 

With so many bright shiny objects of all manner to distract us in recent weeks, you might have lost sight of Earth Day on the calendar this year. Let's face it we certainly have had enough 'other stuff' on our plates, right? But with all that's been changing in our lives, Earth Day is as good a time as any to recognize our place in the world and to acknowledge that our world is so much more than just us.

Not that you asked, but I accidentally ended up in the first-ever Earth Day Parade in New York City back in 1970 as a pimply prep school know-it-all. And now, over a half-century later, I have clear skin and not only still know it all but now think I know it all better. Kidding with the last part of the previous sentence, but I'm hoping you knew that.

Earth is more than our mother and home, but most importantly, it's the only place with chocolate, so please find an activity and help make a difference.
-bill kenny

You Can Leave Your Hat On

Check out my current favorite baseball cap. I bought it from Andy Borowitz's website back in the days when he worked for The New Yorker. All the profits went to Doctors Without Borders. 

I got it very early in the first Trump tragedy in 2017, and hadn't thought about it very often since then, until very recently (like the start of his second term). I avoid online contact with folks outside the USA because I cannot explain, much less defend, the cretinous idiot some of us elected to sit in the White House. 

I'm seriously considering having the ballcap surgically attached to my head, as I see no reason to consider having to remove it until November 2028.
-bill kenny

Seven and Twenty Years On

Cassie Bernall, 17; 

Steven Curnow, 14; 

Corey DePooter, 17; 

Kelly Fleming, 16; 

Matthew Kechter, 16; 

Daniel Mauser, 15;

Daniel Rohrbough, 15;

William "Dave" Sanders, 47; 

Rachel Scott, 17; 

Isaiah Shoels, 18; 

John Tomlin, 16; 

Lauren Townsend, 18,

and Kyle Velasquez, 16.

-bill kenny

Arms Too Short to Box with God....

...or His representative on earth.

Pope Leo XIV said of the apparent tensions with President Trump, "I do not look at my role as being political ... I don't want to get into a debate with him. I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."

"I will continue to speak out loud against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue, multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems," he said. "Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say, 'There's a better way to do this.'"
-bill kenny 

Even Then...

 "Must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint-by-number morning sky looks so phony.

Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains, I don't care 'cause it's all right.

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears, but it's all right

Cow is giving kerosene
Kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene, but it's all right."

"The shoe is on the hand it fits

There's really nothing much to it

Whistle through your teeth and spit 'cause it's all right.

Oh, well, a touch of grey kind of suits you anyway

And that was all I had to say, and it's all right."

-bill kenny

Sailors Fighting in the Dance Hall

The lunar voyage of Artemis II captured my imagination as it did for so many others. As a kid, I thought the 'space program' (I didn't grasp the nuance of all the different programs within NASA) was absolutely amazing, and that little could possibly be cooler than being an astronaut (unless you could also be a baseball player during the summer, AND the President when you weren't an astronaut).

The news has been so sucky for so long, I appreciated the cheering up the mission crew brought to all of us when we needed it most. I'm hoping I'm still above ground when we finally make the leap to Mars, despite how I feel about Elmo Muckox; he is right to insist we explore it.

And perhaps, just perhaps (but still), Mars isn't as barren and desolate as we have always believed. 

Quite frankly, I don't know whether to be thrilled or terrified (or both).
-bill kenny