Good morning or good evening. wherever you may be. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in The City."

Wow, it is approaching sunrise here in the Tri-Cities, and the current temperature is a balmy 39° under cloudy skies. The NWS is forecasting a high to day of 43° and a low tonight of 43°, so we will have plenty of melting snow to contend with here on the PE. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the NWS is forecasting a high of 51°, but a low of only 29°, both days with rain. That means that when it is time to head to Muskegon and my appointment at the hospital early Wednesday, the roads may be icy.

We/I spent much of yesterday watching the Dayton 500.

Popular driver, Danica Patrick, during the Star Spangled Banner of her final 500

What would a 500 be without crashes, one of which collected Danica

And lots of side by side racing

I had requested that Mary make vegan nachos as a meal and she outdid herself. Lettuce, TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) flavored with taco seasoning and tomato paste, jalapeno peppers for me, vegan cheese shreds, sour cream, and salsa made the entire meal delicious.

Sunday in February. No baseball yet, but soon I can enjoy nachos with the "Game of Life!"

 I am just starting a new nonfiction book entitled, So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo, an African American writer based in Washington state. I have just gotten started, but the book promises to be a fascinating read detailing things that are not part of my knowledge base as a 66 year-old white man.

I did some indoor chores while Mary walked the fur-children as the warmer temperatures allowed them to get out.

As previously noted, we may or may not get to the movies today to see Black Panther, which has gotten rave reviews. I was introduced to the character, T'Challa, in my youth as another in the pantheon of Marvel Comics super heroes that I awaited each month in my mailbox. The movie is receiving terrific reviews, but some are lashing out at a comic-book character from the fictional African country of Wakanda, a kingdom that is successful and wealthy, with a ruler who derived his powers from a plant that grows in Wakanda. I guess that some people can't deal with a nearly all black cast and a very successful and talented black director.

We have no real plans for today other than my brief stop at the barber shop. The sun will rise @ 7:36 a.m. and set later @ 6:21 p.m. Don't forget, as if I'd let you, that the position players reported to spring training yesterday. Baseball time is here again! Ciao.