I strive to be quantitative.

Lemme check your ears out son.

Are you pulling for the Tribe more than that other Pennsy team?

Conversation with my wife this morning:

Me: There’s no school today.
Her: Why?
Me: It’s the birthday of that guy who discovered the New World.
Her: Lief Erikson Day?

Me: <facepalm>

Warning: Mild P/R content.

There is a generational shift going on over Columbus day. Older generations see it as a source of pride. Especially true with Italian-Americans.

Younger generations see it as an ironic "celebration" of all the bad things that happened with discovery/colonization of the Americas.

Of course, both have their legitimate points.

Columbus was a terrible person even by the terrible standards of the day not just to indigenous populations but also to his own sailors. And he was incompetent on top of it.

Even my most outspoken Italian-American coworker has moved on. Lots of things and people to celebrate with that culture, but skip him. And the Borgias.

That was yesterday.

A Proclamation on Leif Erikson Day, 2022 | The White House

Wordle 478 2/6
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A Deuce!

Your points are valid, but if you came to South Philadelphia and said that, you would get into a UGE argument.

Perv!

So, my wife wasn’t making a joke? Now, I really do feel stupid.

Whatever people call it, I just wish I had it off.

When I did my tour home from Vermont last year, I remember seeing a sign detailing the open season of something. Might have been a state park campground. It would close on Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day. Think it was the first time I had ever seen that.

One of my buddies learned that the hard way this past weekend. Came off of an obstacle wonky, landed on a small boulder. Broken clavicle possibly some ribs and shoulder. ( the dr. Said they would install a plate and pins and the shoulder, ribs and clavicle could all heal together) Had surgery Sunday. Mountain biking?..... sheesh!

Depends on which parts. The demographics of S. Philly have changed a lot over the years.

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

For reference, my WASP dad still doesn't understand it. When discussing him not understanding actual security being put around a Columbus statue in town a year or two ago, he said "my son, he didn't have anything to do with enslaving black people" with no apparent concept that there are other atrocities to discuss. And he works at an Indian casino...

I am aware. My point is that there are divergent views on this topic, and the older generation may not be receptive to hearing what the younger one is saying.

Same as it ever was.

We're here to help...

In other news, in case any of y'all cares, AG and I are still planning on moving next spring.

However, now the intent is to move in with mom for the duration of the housing chaos. If prices have plunged, rent the current house if possible, but with the low interest and early-2020 price don't sell at a low, but figure a university town with good employers will rebound faster than average. If it's only down some, try to sell. Meanwhile, with no debt other than this mortgage, we save a semi-disturbing amount of cash or equivalents for when the market stabilizes. No rent, as mom is comfortable anyway and views it as "just delaying you guys getting the house" rather than freeloading. And she likes having us around anyway.

Long-term the place is smaller than we'd like, but for free it's the right price, and is a maximum-defense situation in a time of economic uncertainty. Even if we were both to lose our jobs, we could sell the current house in good order rather than desperation and last longer than most recessions without employment.

Even knowing we're very lucky overall, it feels like life has been chaos and earthquakes for years on end. I hope everyone is doing ok.

And for added fun, dad keeps thinking I just misunderstand him and if he explains himself more I'll realize what he's saying and agree.

Same as it ever was?

I may have not been paying attention. Is your mom in Austin or in Colorado or elsewhere??

Mom is Boulder; ever since the first time after the pandemic any time we go up we stay with her. We used to stay at the Residence Inn, but after like five years it's somehow falling apart. Meanwhile, after that first time in 2021, the tenants renting out the main building of her house bought their own. That coincided with her arthritis getting bad enough for the first hip replacement, so moving out of her upstairs garage apartment into the single-level house was perfect timing. Now we stay above the garage, without a shared wall. It's the size of a studio apartment, but when I work I work in the back room of the house and AG uses the living room up there, so it works.

When things were stable there was a chance we'd stay there in an interim while selling and searching, but the one thing I don't see as a realistic outcome of the current scenario is housing spiking in the short-term. Thus, we wait, in a financial castle. At some point our employment situations will have more clarity and some sort of new normal emerge, and we can go from there.

No VT in the family. Her parents are in upstate NY; my dad and his side of the family are in southeastern CT. We both have sisters in the extended Boston area.

I do have more-extended family in ME, and she in norcal.

Cleveland, Detroit and Cincy are all closer than Philly. Chicago and Philly are about equidistant from where I grew up in Western PA. Phooey on Philly.