Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 30° under cloudy skies. With the wind-chill factor caused by the prevailing16 mph winds, it feels like 21°. Today's high is forecast to reach 33° under cloudy skies.

There is a Gale Warning in effect from 11:00 a.m. this until 4:00 p.m. Thursday. North winds 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 35 knots and waves 6 to 9 feet are expected from St Joseph to Manistee. Hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility are highly likely. Winds will shift from offshore, northeast, this morning to northwest by this evening. The strongest winds are expected during the evening hours today. Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course, and/or secure the vessel for severe conditions and that doesn't count the regular cast of foolhardy people willingly braving those conditions on the South Pier.

Beginning tomorrow, the NWS is forecasting three more days of temperatures in the 20s, and then a few days in the 40s and then some in the 30s, and so on. Winter in Michigan.

The sun will rise today @ 7:26 a.m. and set later @ 6:30 p.m.

What a whirlwind day we had yesterday, well at least as whirlwind as a day can be when you are retired. I made my third of five visits to the orthopedist and then had lunch at the hospital cafeteria salad bar. They had all of my favorites, including chickpeas, beets, broccoli and iceberg lettuce. Sadly, they hadn't put out any mushrooms.

Who would have thought that until a few years ago, I'd avoided mushrooms like President George H.W. Bush avoided broccoli. Maybe it was because my mother favored those slimy mushrooms that came in cans and jars. President Bush said that he'd been forced to eat broccoli as a kid and now that he was president, he didn't have to eat broccoli. Me, I just couldn't be forced nor cajoled into eating those slimy things that my mother served. Come to think of it, I can't recall eating a salad until I got married 46 years ago either.

When I got  home, I found that Mary had been in contact with our friend, Ellen, through email to discuss and reminisce about Ellen's recollections of the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, November 3, 1963. Ellen was living in Dallas at the time and her recollections were both similar to and different from those of both Mary and myself. Mary is currently reading a book by Stephen King that is a historical time-travel novelized version of that infamous day. People who lived through those tumultuous times have their recollections indelibly etched into their memories.

I know my memories of that event are not as vivid as those of others, like both Ellen and Mary, but I still remember where I was when our principal at Miner Junior-High School, nee middle-school, Chester Raasch, came on the PA system to announce the death of the president. What followed was four days of wall to wall TV about the events of that fateful day. In those day, there were only three or four TV channels on a black and white TV in the living room of my parents house.

For Mary, she just knew that the nuns at her Catholic grammar school, St. Alphonsus Liquori in Prospect Heights, IL, were crying. These women were supposed to be super-human and for them to be openly weeping was very disconcerting to the young children in their charge. President Kennedy was the first Roman-Catholic to be elected POTUS.

But, as is often the case, I digress. I had made plans work in the kitchen to use the cauliflower that had to be used  before it want over the edge, so to speak. I was going to try a new recipe and make a cauliflower and macaroni casserole. Unfortunately, we didn't have all of the ingredients called for in the recipe, so instead, Mary and I combined to make mashed cauliflower and potatoes along with vegan Italian sausages. When in Rome as they say.

Today, Mary has another "Tad" session at the library while the fur-children and I keep the home fires burning. If there is sufficient light, I may do some painting. If not, there are several stringed instruments awaiting my attention in my studio and books and newspapers to read. Ciao..