Monday Musings - February 17, 2020

1. It is already President's Day and that means that February is more than half complete. The year is slipping by. 

2. I noted that it was 60 degrees warmer when I arrived back in Elkridge yesterday than it had been on Saturday morning in Ithaca. The change was Minus 6 in Ithaca to 54 degrees in Elkridge. 

3. Yesterday was a tough day for the grandsons in the basketball playoffs. Both teams lost. Sadly. Next week are the consolation games.

4. Spring Training is underway in Sarasota, Florida. In less than two weeks I will be seeing the Baby Birds for myself and getting a feel for the upcoming season. 

5. It was great driving to Upstate New York over the weekend. We did not have to contend with crushing traffic either going up or coming back. 

Canada Geese on Cayuga Lake
February 15, 2020

6. Geese. We saw thousands of Canada geese over the weekend. Some were in Central Pennsylvania taking off on their journey north and others were settled on the shores and waters of Cayuga Lake near Sheldrake Point, New York. 

7. Of course, I visited two of my favorite Finger Lakes wineries over the weekend to restock my collection of Rieslings. Sadly, one of the wineries is closing, Americana Vineyards apparently has fallen upon hard times. It is unclear whether the financial difficulties are tax or strictly over extended business practices. 

8. Today in History. On February 17, 1904, Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly premieres at the La Scala theatre in Milan, Italy.

The young Puccini decided to dedicate his life to opera after seeing a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida in 1876. In his later life, he would write some of the best-loved operas of all time: La Boheme (1896), Tosca (1900), Madame Butterfly (1904) and Turandot (left unfinished when he died in 1924). Not one of these, however, was an immediate success when it opened. La Boheme, the now-classic story of a group of poor artists living in a Paris garret, earned mixed reviews, while Tosca was downright panned by critics.

Headlines

S.C. authorities investigating death of 6-year-old missing girl - OAN 

Slowed by the Coronavirus, China Struggles to Reopen for Business - The New York Times

Fourteen Americans evacuated from another cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the virus.  - The New York Times

Hundreds of Americans flown home from cruise ship - Reuters

No let up in Taliban attacks, fresh orders awaited over deal with U.S. - Reuters

President's Day Quote for the Week

In celebration of President's Day, a quote from George Washington.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD