Monday Musings - April 25, 2022

 

1. The last Monday of April has arrived. Wow--it came fast. I was able to enjoy some nice weather yesterday. There are just 35 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. The quick trip to Upstate New York was blessed with good weather. It was neither as cold nor as rainy as the weather predicted. 

Damiani Winery
Burdett, NY
April 24, 2022

3. I had not traveled Interstate 81 through Pennsylvania for quite a while and traveling it this weekend reminded me that it is really a truckers highway. One of the most frustrating things is when trucks pass trucks on long uphill sections and slow traffic significantly.

4. Wine tasting? Well of course. While in New York, Chris and I tasted quite a few wines. That made the best of the reason we were back in Central New York. Well, of course being with family was another good reason. We enjoyed some nice wines along the east shore of Seneca Lake on Sunday morning as we began our return trip to Maryland. 

5. During our drive yesterday, Chris and I witnessed different aspects of Spring. In Central New York, Spring is just beginning to show as the early Spring flowers are in full bloom and the trees were budded, but bare. Then, around Central Pennsylvania, we noticed the trees were beginning to turn green with signs of new leaves. Here in Maryland, the leaves are large enough to provide shade and canopy, although not yet full in size. 

6. Today in History. On April 25, 1983, the Soviet Union releases a letter that Russian leader Yuri Andropov wrote to Samantha Smith, an American fifth-grader from Manchester, Maine, inviting her to visit his country. Andropov’s letter came in response to a note Smith had sent him in December 1982, asking if the Soviets were planning to start a nuclear war. At the time, the United States and Soviet Union were Cold War enemies.

U.S. Wants to See Russia Weakened, Says Defense Secretary Austin - The Wall Street Journal

Beijing Braces for Omicron Wave With Hoarding and Testing - The Wall Street Journal

U.S. to reopen Kyiv embassy soon, says Russia has failed in war aims - Reuters

Panic buying in Beijing stores amid COVID lockdown fears - Reuters

Analysis: U.S. trucking downturn foreshadows possible economic gloom - Reuters

In Mariupol, echoes of history, utter devastation and a last stand - The Washington Post

France’s Macron wins second term decisively - The Washington Post

Foreign investors are ditching China. Russia's war is the latest trigger - CNN

McCarthy's latest genuflection to Trump paints America's possible future - CNN

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD