What I Heard This Week 09-22-2022
Queen Elizabeth’s beloved Corgis Muick, and Sandy, will be cared for by the Duke and Duchess of York who still live in the same house with each other. The Queen owned more than 30 Corgis during her lifetime, each descended from her first, Susan, an 18th birthday gift from her father, George VI. Fascinating. Charles is now King, Camilla is Queen Consort, William and Kate are now the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Andrew gets the dogs. Poor Andrew.
Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom. – Queen Elizabeth II
The world’s largest indoor vertical farm will be built in Virginia by Plenty Unlimited. The $300 million 120-acre facility will grow multiple crops including strawberries, leafy greens, and tomatoes. Plenty says that its 30-foot vertical towers maximize light for crops, producing 350 times the yield per acre of traditional farms and are climate-controlled and pesticide-free. The farm plans to produce 20 million pounds of food, starting with Driscoll’s strawberries. Despite the fact that this new farm is planning to bring 300 full-time jobs to Virginians, the crops will be tended to by tall robot arms. Yep. And there is a company called Vertical Oceans that plans to raise…get this …shrimp in the same way.
Work is the rent you pay for the room you occupy on earth. – Queen Elizabeth II
This week I ordered Cat Grass seeds for my cats and dog because they absolutely love it, and supposedly it helps with hairballs. Teller eats it up, but I think he does it because the cats like it, not because he gets hairballs. Anyway, Park Seed Company charged me $4.95 for shipping plus $1.00 fuel surcharge. Hmmm. What the heck? Fuel surcharge? That’s new. You would think that $4.95 shipping for a package of seeds would be sufficient. Simply a sign of the times.
If I wore beige, nobody would know who I am. – Queen Elizabeth II
Serena Williams is not ruling out a return to the world of professional tennis. One day last week she said, “I mean, you never know. I’ve just been saying that Tom Brady started a really cool trend, you know…and the way he did it…” So, about ten days after she retired, she is not ruling out a return.
We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock. – Queen Elizabeth II
When I see a recall that I think is beneficial, and there is space here, I tell you. Most of those are life-threatening or could cause bodily harm. Last week, COSTCO alerted customers about minor issues with two items sold in their stores which the company is offering refunds: Saffola Safflower Oil and Kirkland Signature 3lb Local Honey. I received a card in the mail because I had purchased the honey. Luckily, neither of these items are dangerous, just not as advertised. But receiving the card was very nice. Some stores leave consumers to their own devices when it comes to staying aware about which products have been recalled and pulled from shelves. But Costco said their packaging contained incorrect information that may influence customer satisfaction, and they were making it right. I appreciate that.
Ticket to Paradise is the new Julia Roberts and George Clooney movie, reuniting years after Ocean’s Eleven & Twelve, and Money Monster. They are now playing a divorced couple who make a truce in order to stop their daughter from marrying a man she just met. October 21. The rom-con trailer is good. Good chemistry. Top Gun: Maverick? I am going to tell you again. GO SEE IT. It is still in the theaters. I am now watching Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. It is great, but not children friendly. In fact, if you have kids, watch it in your bedroom with volume down.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Newswoman Barbara Walters is 93. Actor Michael Douglas is 78. Actor Anson Williams of Happy Days is 73. Country singer Carlene Carter is 67. Daughter of June Carter Cash. Singer-actor-director Shaun Cassidy is 64. Actor Brigitte Bardot is 88. Singer-guitarist Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad is 74. Actor Melissa Sue Anderson of Little House on the Prairie is 60. Singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos is 68. Actor Mark Hamill is 71. Star Wars.
Actor Jeremy Irons is 74. Actor-model Twiggy Lawson is 73. TV personality Joan Lunden is 72. Actor Sophia Loren is 88. Author-comedian Fanny Flagg is 81. TV personality Bryant Gumbel is 74. Actor Angie Dickinson is 91. Model Cheryl Tiegs is 75. Singer Cissy Houston is 89. Singer Johnny Mathis is 87. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 79. Actor Barry Williams of The Brady Bunch is 68. Actor Fran Drescher is 65.
Hurricane Fiona is continuing to strengthen and is expected to become a Category 4 by the time this paper is printed, then expected to pass awfully close to Bermuda late Thursday or Friday, then head north. Two other systems are being tracked in the Atlantic now; Tropical Depression Gaston, and Disturbance 98L which could spell trouble in the Gulf of Mexico next week. 70% chance of formation in next 48 hrs.
One day, a very depressed young woman watched her dad bake a loaf of bread; suddenly she found joy in her life and in baking. She and her dad now run the UK Orange Bakery where “corgi butter butts” inspired by the family dog Scout, are a customer favorite. Yep, I saw them online. The rolls look just like corgi butts, which are pretty cute. And if that does not bring you joy, nothing will.
During construction of the $8 billion Maya (Mayan) Train project in the Yucatan peninsula, there has been a discovery of an ancient Maya (Mayan) archaeological site comprised of more than 300 buildings, some of which stand over 26 feet tall. This location is somewhere between Playa del Carmen and Tulum where over 25,000 immovable assets have been uncovered along with ancient roads, 431 ceramic pots and 423 bones from human burials. The train project is being built to promote tourism, but communities, archaeologists, and environmental activists claim that resort developments will have the opposite effect.
After a tiring day, a commuter settled down in his seat and closed his eyes. As the train rolled out of the station, the young woman sitting next to him pulled out her cell phone and started talking in a loud voice:
“Hi sweetheart. It’s Sue. I’m on the train.”
“Yes, I know it’s the six thirty and not the four thirty, but I had a long meeting.”
“No, honey, not with that Kevin from the accounting office. It was with the boss.”
“No sweetheart, you’re the only one in my life“.
“Yes, I’m sure, cross my heart!”
Fifteen minutes later, she was still talking loudly. When the man sitting next to her had enough, he leaned over and said into the phone, “Sue, hang up the phone and come back to bed.”
Sue does not use her cell phone in public any longer. (Note: Just imagine this when you are in line, forced to listen to personal conversations at the grocery store, post office, fast-food restaurant, Tractor Supply, Baskin Robbins, or even The Source Weekly where we had to put up a sign that says, In the Interest of Accuracy and as a Courtesy to You, We Will Provide Service as Soon as Your Cell Phone Call is Completed.
Kinda Good news for Medicare. The Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed into law last month has new rules that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs for some retirees. But change, of course, is not immediate.
In 2023 – Monthly insulin copay will be capped at $35 a month (just Medicare, not private insurance.)
In 2023: Free vaccines for Medicare with no copay for vaccines such as flu, pneumonia, and shingles.
Not until 2025: Annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs to be capped at $2,000 for Medicare. (Huge improvement over current Part D that continues to charge 5% copay even after you have reached the devastating copay of $7,050.)
Not until 2026: Medicare (largest health care provider in the country) has never been allowed to negotiate prices for prescription drug costs. That’s not just costly for people on Medicare, it is costly to the federal government, therefore taxpayers are responsible for Medicare’s funding. Beginning in 2026, there will be 10 drugs priced based on negotiated rates, with more drugs to follow in the following three years. It has not yet been determined which 10 high-cost drugs will be in the first selection.
Out of respect, all of the McDonald’s in the UK closed their restaurants on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and it was also a bank holiday. So, today I’m sitting at the kitchen table reading The Chronicle, having just watched the Queen’s funeral which was magnificent and very touching. I just saw an ad for senior living community in Houston called, “The Buckingham.” Must be a royally nice place.
His Love’s 50th Anniversary and Buddy Scott’s 76th Birthday is being celebrated October 2. In lieu of a birthday gift, he is asking to please give an anniversary gift for His Love Counseling Services PO Box 518, LJ. Through the years, Buddy Scott has provided counseling for many.
It’s over now, the music of the night. Broadway’s longest running show is officially closing. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, The Phantom of the Opera, will close this winter, February 18th. Since opening night on January 26, 1988, the show has played 13,733 performances over nearly 35 years. Phantom has struggled to recover since it reopened in October 2021 following the covid pandemic closure and has been losing about $1 million a month. When it opened Michael Crawford was the masked romantic and Sarah Brightman was his beloved soprano, Christine. They won seven Tony awards including Best Actor for Crawford and Best Musical.
Many THANKS to Christopher S. for his kind words about The Source Weekly. We love it when you call our office, but he also suggested that it would be nice if we published more than once a week. Hmmm. Because this is a family newspaper, I cannot publish the comments that were thrown at me when I read his note to the staff but thank you for appreciating us SO much. AND to the gentleman that popped his head through the front door this morning to tell us what a great job we are doing and to keep up the good work, we say THANK YOU! Then he popped back in to say that sometimes you have to leave people with roses instead of thorns. Sweet. Remember to do that yourself this week. Roses, no thorns.
This hurts me to say. Nigerian officials seized thousands of male donkey genitals, a total of 16 sacks disguised or falsely declared as male cow genitals, but after careful examination, the cover-up was discovered. In July, Nigerian customs seized $116,000 worth of Donkey skins being smuggled INTO the country. Nigeria is now trying to eliminate the export of donkey skins (used mainly in China In popular traditional medicines) because it has drastically diminished the country’s population of the work animals and the poor donkeys are now facing extinction, because it seems they have a very low rate of fertility. Poor donkeys. They’re probably scared to death to procreate.
This is Child Passenger Safety Week. A very important subject. If you need help determining if a child is in the right seat for his or her age and size, visit NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat or NHTSA.gov/Protegidos.
Thanks for taking the time to read this today. We appreciate you.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
