Happy Dyngus Day

Our Grandson Mitchell And Kaia

It's 7:20, and I've been up since 6:30, joining Beth and Rami for coffee. It looks like a beautiful, blue-sky morning, and the dogs are already outside, enjoying the fresh air and the freedom to run around in their new yard.

By the way, Dyngus Day is celebrated by Polish Americans all over the USA — it marks the end of Lent, falling on the Monday after Easter. It often features a parade, polka music, and traditional Polish food like pierogi. Buffalo, NY, always throws a big celebration.

Easter meant another seven-hour drive, this time from Memphis to Dallas. It was easy going for most of the way, and the roads in Arkansas — especially Highway 40 — were in fine shape, likely because the region sees little snow or freezing weather. We stopped once for breakfast, once for gas, and skipped lunch altogether. Evie drove part of the way, which made things much easier on me. It only got hairy as we approached Dallas — four or five lanes of traffic, with some real crazies out there, literally drag racing. One misjudgment and it could have been catastrophic. I tried to hang back, stick to the speed limit, and keep a safe following distance, but it was largely futile — cars from other lanes just kept cutting in. We made it, though, arriving around 3:30. As Trump would say: Praise be to Allah.

It was wonderful to see Beth and Rami, and a real bonus that their son Mitchell was there as well, helping with their move to a new house. The weather was pleasant enough to sit out on the back porch — the sun almost made it too warm, in fact. Who would have thought we'd be overheating in April! We sat around with wine until we were ready for dinner and ordered Thai through Uber Eats. A feast arrived around 6:30, and it was a hit. Afterward, we talked through the plan for the next day — helping Beth and Rami move their things into the new house, which is why we're here. There's still plenty to do. We watched some SNL and Top Chef before tiredness got the better of us, and we turned in early, around 9:30.

Tin Tin

Kaia

A couple of observations about the trip: it was striking to leave Chautauqua — a winter of mostly black and white — and, as we drove south, roll into a blaze of greens, then bursts of color as we hit Arkansas and the outskirts of Dallas. The roads improved gradually too, with fewer potholes the farther south we went. I'm no fan of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas's governor, but her state keeps its roads in decent shape. My only real fear on the drive was other drivers — some drifting into our lane while on their phones, others weaving in and out of traffic at 80 or 90 mph.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fucking' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP"