Good early morning GH. It is just past 3:30 AM in "The City." Our current temperature is 10° with light snow falling. In other words, nothing new. We may see a high of 16°, but with the expected wind chill that comes from the anticipated 15 - 20 MPH winds, that may feel more like -10° or lower. It is Michigan after all.

Saturday Mary and I are going out to a celebration of life at the Post. These occasions are both sad and uplifting at the same time. On one hand, they are a memorial to the recently departed and on the other hand, a celebration of those whom they left behind. I've been to many traditional funerals and a few celebrations of life, and I prefer the latter. Having taught school for many years, I believe that we should always celebrate life and not dwell in the past.

It comes as no surprise to me that the train just went by at 3:02 AM. Twin EMD GP 38 locomotives, the one in the lead painted in the new livery and the second in the older C. F. & E livery. They were followed by five black tank cars and nine covered hopper cars, all headed north. I still worry about those black tank cars and their possible contents, given the myriad possibilities for their cargo. Sigh.

Thursday found me in my chair beginning my latest book. The author has done a nice job, so far, taking a non-fiction topic and making it interesting. I have been disappointed in the past, as various authors have belabored a point, Ad nauseam. I have hopes for this book, but that remains to be seen.

We are fast approaching the first day of spring, my first day of spring that is. The Tigers and the boys in blue have asked their pitchers and catchers to report on the 13th of this month. The pitchers and catchers for my beloved Red Sox have been asked to report two days later, on the 15th. Respectively, that's six and eight days from now. The first television broadcasts for the boys in blue are scheduled on the 27th and 28th of February. To borrow from a politician I once heard, Ye Haw!

Today, I have a P/T appointment at 3:00 PM. I am slowly getting better and that's all that matters. The doctor told me it would be about 16 weeks before I felt good, and that's about mid-April, just in time for the snow to melt and the temperatures to rise. At least I am now allowed to lift some weights of two pounds. I still won't be able to throw a curve ball, but then I never could. I am hoping to try golf again this year, something I've not been able to do for a few years.

Will I be rusty? Think of an old car in the junk yard and you'll get the idea. I don't even have any clubs of my own, but when you can't play, you don't need any. Of course, if I get any more hobbies, I won't have any time to do them. That's a problem that I am sure may people would love to have.

So that looks like about enough for now. My OTC pain pill has begun to kick in, and that will allow me to return to bed. Sunrise will be at 7:52 AM, just before...Tea time and breakfast. I had Cheerios with an apple yesterday, so I think that today's breakfast will be banana/nut bread. Mary has to work on her latest effort, one that is extremely detailed and that will keep her busy. She will have to interrupt her work to chauffeur me to that P/T appointment. Right now she is not making the per hour progress that she prefers.

A special shout out to Barb. I hope that she is on the mend like me. This has not been a good winter for either of us. My thoughts are with her. Ciao.