Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

Had a great day yesterday. We had and are having a surprise visit from our children, Adam and Stephany. They arrived while I was at my Irish Jam Session. That's a nice way to segue into that session itself. A rather large group of players and audience members came, probably due in large measure to the fair weather that was part of the reason for the kids to come and visit too.

Also another great segue, this time to the weather here and in Chicago, where Stephany and Adam call home. We had a high temperature in the upper 30s yesterday and the current temperature, according to my DTWS, is 38°. The NWS is forecasting a high temperature for today of 39° so we won't have far to go. In addition, drizzle is part of that forecast. Monday's high has been reforecast, once again, to 44°, but still with a 100% chance of rain. We should see a great deal of the snow that has fallen over the last couple of weeks melt away.

Meanwhile, back at my Jam Session, I didn't sing this time, but some of the regulars that have been with us before returned to the fold, so to speak. In addition, there were players from several surrounding communities, including, Coopersville, Muskegon, Ravenna, Grand Rapids, and of course, right here in "The City" itself. Young and old and all skill levels were in the group. It felt/sounded good to have this many people.

Last evening, we were chauffeur driven to a restaurant just outside of Holland, called On The Border, which, as its name suggests, it what is referred to in the restaurant industry as "Fast Casual." specializes in Americanized Mexican foods. Mary and I had portabella and vegetable fajitas, and they were delicious. Accompanied by an endless supply of chips, salsa, Mexican rice, and beans, we and the kids enjoyed the meal and the time. It wasn't that long ago that I eschewed the ingestion of mushrooms of any variety and now I seem to find them very tasty. Go figure.

Today, we'll say goodbye to the kids as they begin their return trip to the Windy City, so named not because of the weather, but because of the politicians that are part and parcel to the city on the eastern shores of the "Big Lake." Here in GH, we too are on the shores of the "Big Lake", albeit, we are on the western shore.

Otherwise, Mary got the recent index back for some editing, but she says that the changes are minor and should not take too long.

No change in the dates for spring training, yet. I may or may not watch some of the NFL Playoffs later today.

Adam made a good point at dinner last night regarding the danger that is part of football at any level of play. Should we, Mary and I, as animal rights proponents, be supporting a sport that is by its very nature, harmful to the human animal? I'm not sure yet how I feel. In this case, the human animals make a choice, whereas the animals that are kept and "used" by humans for food and other products have no choice. Perhaps limiting the playing of a dangerous sport until later in life when a person can make a truly informed decision, or taking away the perception of safety conferred by some of the high tech equipment would help. A bit of a conundrum, I believe. I'll have to ruminate more on this.

So, that looks like enough for one day's activities and thinking. The sun will rise today @ 8:10 a.m. and set later @ 5:42 p.m. Ciao.