A Bob's Life: Monday Musings

Monday, March 9, 2026

Monday Musings - March 9, 2026

1. The second Monday of March is upon us. We have survived the Daylight Saving Time transition and are moving deeper into the month. There are 42 Mondays remaining in the year.

Minerva in Her Study
Rembrandt
Norton Museum of Art
West Palm Beach, FL
March 8, 2026

2. We are at war, declared or not. Out tax dollars are being consumed to the tune of about $1B per day to pursue a war that the American people do not want. Nothing good is happening and perhaps the greatest travesty of the war likely committed by American forces is being covered-up by the administration. American military personnel are dying for a cause that has yet to been defined. My thoughts and prayers are with our service men and women and their families for protection.

3. We visited the traveling art exhibit Art and Life in Rembrandt's Time at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach yesterday. The exhibit was well planned and seeing the paintings in real life was an experience. I spent some extra time considering the painting of Minerva in Her Study given that she is the Goddess of War, among other titles.

4. Was anyone else appalled at our president's lack of respect for our fallen military members when he attended the Dignified Transfer wearing a campaign ballcap. “Trump just wore a campaign hat to a dignified transfer for fallen U.S. soldiers that were killed during his Iranian blunder,’ Chris D. Jackson wrote on X. “These are the same people who spent week attacking Biden for briefly glancing at his watch. The hypocrisy is absolute. There is no bottom for these people.” (Penn Live Patriot News)

5. We have been enjoying a great time with friends. When we get together, it is like no time has passed at all. It also gives us an excuse to do experience new activities or to revisit places that we have not visited in a while. Heading off to the Norton Museum of Art yesterday is one such example. Today we are planning on seeing the Orioles Spring Training Game against the Cardinals.

6. Riddle me this. How is it we have enough money to wage a war most Americans do not want, but not enough to provide sufficient medical care and subsistence that most Americans want?

7. Today in History On March 9, 1959, the first Barbie doll goes on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City.

Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman behind Barbie was Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband in 1945. After seeing her young daughter ignore her baby dolls to play make-believe with paper dolls of adult women, Handler realized there was an important niche in the market for a toy that allowed little girls to imagine the future.