At Ease

by Jack Webster

GREETINGS TO THE NEW YEAR! Let the blizzards come. Let the winds blow and the storms rage around us! ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD AGAIN --- Sid Hartman is back with the Star Tribune!

The 95-year-old columnist is back on the job full time, radio shows and all! The elderly gent, who has been working with the newspaper longer than most of you have been alive, had his column in its usual place on page 3 of the Star on Monday, Jan. 9! Hartman had suffered a broken hip a month ago and after surgery, has returned to his full time duties again. Welcome back, Sid!

TO MY MIND HE IS back just in time to report on the Timberwolves making their drive to the NBA Playoffs! Remember, you saw it here first --- the T’wolves will make it to post season play for the first time in many years. I feel the youngsters have learned how “to finish” a ballgame and now are on their way to becoming one of the powers in the NBA for years to come . . . With an average age of 24 for their top eight players they are here to stay near (or at) the top!

RATHER ENJOY LISTENING to the chimes just outside the kitchen window but wish they would play a different tune occasionally . . .

THE MINNESOTA WILD is the only team in town that might be as “hot” as the Timberwolves have been the past week. The Wild is on a winning binge equal to anything in the NHL or in the Wild’s history. They came from behind to beat Chicago Sunday thus overtaking the season-long leaders and taking control of the Central Division. The Wild are two points up on the Blackhawks with four games in hand (meaning they have played four fewer games). Barring a complete breakdown the Wild should definitely make the playoffs and probably be one of two top-rated teams going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We are at the midway point of the season in both the NHL and NBA so a lot can happen but I am the eternal optimist . . .

NOW IF THE TWINS CAN only follow suit and get back into the race and give us some good summer entertainment we will be back near the top as a Major League Sports’ city!

The Minnesota Lynx are always at or near the very top in the WNBA so we have no cause to worry about them.

That leaves us with only the Vikings to try and straighten out but I haven’t checked the Police Blotter lately to see what their situation is . . .

WEIRD! A circus acrobatic couple tied the knot on a tightrope during a performance in Houston. The couple was married on a tightrope 30 feet above the ground. To add to the oddity the groom arrived on a camel and the bride came in on a horse. Guess it takes all kinds . . . but that would certainly be a wedding to remember! I wonder what the odds are of them having “normal” children . . .?

THREE CHEERS FOR NORTH DAKOTA! Several Senators in that state are introducing a bill to do away with Daylight Savings Time! Sen. Dave Oehlke, R-Devils Lake, says “Daylight Savings Time just does not make any sense.” Three other (DFL) Senators are going along with him stating “Daylight Savings Time should be ‘out’ and the entire state be under Central Standard Time Year around.” To make matters a little more complicated the southwest corner of the state currently is in Mountain Standard Time while the rest of the state is Central Standard Time.

A legislative panel in Massachusetts is also studying whether to opt out of Daylight Savings Time. Hopefully both states will pass the measure and thus join Hawaii, Arizona and a part of Indiana in ignoring the (I think) stupid Daylight Savings Time routine --- GO FOR IT NORTH DAKOTA and MASSACHUSETTS! We’re cheering for you!

GUESS WE WILL SOON KNOW if Mr. Trump is “All Blow and No Show” or maybe he is the real thing. With the inauguration set for Friday we will soon find out a little more about this egomaniac we have elected. We will just have to give him a little time and see if he can deliver, and hopefully he has made some good choices for his cabinet positions.

Let us hope that he continues the one trend that was started under Pres. Obama, and that is the growth of our Navy and the number of ships in the U. S. Fleet. We hit a low of 278 ships in 2008, but it is the hope of Navy Secretary Mabus that we can reach his goal of 308 by the year 2021. In Trump’s campaign speeches, he also alluded to a stronger military (all branches) within a few years and also better conditions, care and support for our active and retired servicemen and women.

RESULTS OF THE LATEST SURVEY: In the Twin Cities the top name for male dogs was “Charlie” while the top name for female dogs was “Lucy.” Rounding out the top five names for male dogs were Max, Buddy, Cooper and Jack! The rest of the top five names for female dogs were Bella, Daisy, Sophie and Lola.

By comparison, Jack was the sixth most popular (human) male baby name and Lucy and Sophie ranked eighth and 15th for the girls. Just thought I would let you know that the name “Jack” has not gone completely “to the dogs”. . .

PAY ATTENTION WHEN WALKING AS WELL AS WHEN DRIVING is the word being sent out by law enforcement officers across the state. A total of 60 pedestrians died on Minnesota roads during the year 2016. That is 19 more than were killed the previous year. No definite conclusion has been reached BUT officials noted that there have been more distracted driving crashes the last couple of years than ever before. It is not only drivers, however, as distracted pedestrians have been hit when wandering onto the street while texting, talking on the phone, etc.

FOR YOU FOLKS WHO ARE TRYING TO DIET READ THIS! Sounds like a sure fire scheme to lose unwanted lbs.! The label on Palmolive dish soap reads: “This will dissolve fat that is otherwise difficult to remove!” Sounds like a winner to me . . .

ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE movie stars passed on last week. From her first movie “Tammy and the Bachelor” right on through “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” Debbie Reynolds was my idea of the perfect movie star. Never one to seek the limelight, or make headlines via scandalous behavior Miss Reynolds was my idea of the “ideal woman.” As I recall the only scandal that she was ever a part of was when her husband Eddie Fischer became involved with Liz Taylor and left Debbie for the oft-married/divorced Miss Taylor. Debbie was definitely the innocent victim in that mess.

In my mind one of the all-time best movies was “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” starring Reynolds. I for one will miss seeing her as the innocent farm girl, the all-star singer or the perfect actress in any role she undertook. Rest in peace, Debbie.

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