Shipwrecked & Comatose

Last year I started a new tradition .  I found the idea on  Facebook (Facebook provided a good idea - what a rarity).  Every time a happy event happens, write it down and put it in a jar.  Then at the end of the year, open the jar and gain some perspective on how the year was. I didn’t have a jar, but I had a rustic wooden box I bought at the NY Renaissance Faire years ago.  I now designate it as my storage for memories. 2022 was a rough year.  Our family suffered a devastating loss.  After years of being careful, Kevin and I and a few of our family members succumbed to COVID - right at the start of our vacation no less.  But amidst the loss were some new beginnings.  We also had many good times.  It’s time to look back on the best of the best. That cute wooden box. Was it a bad year?  This is a large pile of papers. January 22   - Malcolm and Steffanie's wedding.  The whole family convened for a fun (although cold) weekend in Boston. February 8th - The family gathered for Eleanor

I have so many posts titled "Random Thoughts" I decided to engage in an exquisite time-waster and number each one so they would each have a unique identifier.  I don't know why I needed to do that, but I now know I have done 28 posts of "Random Thoughts" microblogs. ### Everyone talks about the "drunk uncle" who makes trouble at holidays.  How come I don’t have a drunk uncle?   Am I missing out?  Where can I get a drunk uncle?  It might be nice to spice up holidays a bit. ### Why did children's pop culture abandon aardvarks? When I was a kid  Wonderama  had an aardvark song.   Sesame Street  had an aardvark song.  The books and TV series  Arthur  is about an aardvark (who doesn't resemble an aardvark at all).  Why aren't kids these days amused by aardvarks? ### When I was a kid, if my food was too hot, the adults who were serving it to me would put it in a smaller dish.  I never understood why they did that.  How does a small dish make food